Judge rejects request to block records in woman’s death
A southwestern Indiana judge has rejected a man’s request to block the release of records on authorities’ investigation into his daughter’s 2014 disappearance and death.
Indiana Court of Appeals
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Reversal: Delay unreasonable in invoking mortgage acceleration clause
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court’s order that foreclosed a couple’s interest in two mortgaged properties, finding a mortgage banking company was unreasonably delayed in invoking a promissory note’s acceleration clause.
Attempted murder convictions upheld in best friend stabbing
Convictions for a man who attempted to murder his best friend have been upheld after the Indiana Court of Appeals found no abuse of discretion in admitting statements under the excited utterance exception, or when it allowed the state to ask the victim leading questions due to his injuries.
Goff discusses path to bench, sentencing reform efforts
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Christopher Goff won the lottery. That’s how he describes his legal career, at least. Goff spoke about his legal and judicial career during a Friday afternoon session at the Indiana State Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Conference, held over the weekend in French Lick.
Supreme Court remands drug convictions to eliminate double jeopardy violations
The Indiana Supreme Court remanded a guilty verdict Monday solely to eliminate the remaining double jeopardy violation in a man’s two drug-related convictions. Both convictions were enhanced based on the same evidence of his possession of a single firearm.
Gary’s gun lawsuit gets revived with COA ruling
Nearly 20 years after it was originally filed, the city of Gary’s lawsuit against firearm manufacturers and dealers is again moving forward after being revived for a third time on appeal, this time focusing on potential unlawful conduct.
COA to hear wrongful death appeal at Indy community center
Whether claims from a deceased man’s estate allege facts that fall under Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act after he died from a leg injury will be argued during an Appeals on Wheels oral argument Wednesday at the Indianapolis Jewish Community Center.
COA remands case to clarify who should set sliding scale fees
The Indiana Court of Appeals has remanded a case after finding no clarification from the trial court as to whether Marion County Community Corrections was intended to evaluate a man on a sliding scale of fees for his home detention costs.
COA affirms BZA’s denial of fire department’s residential property use
A Southern Indiana volunteer fire department faced the heat after the Indiana Court of Appeals sided with a local board of zoning appeals to deny the department’s application to use a residential home as an emergency sub-station.
Judgment for IndyCar upheld in Panther Racing suit
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed that a sponsorship agreement between IndyCar and a now-defunct racing team did not prevent IndyCar from providing another team access to space in the Fan Village at races on the circuit.
Man’s conviction for harassing DCS case manager stands
A man convicted of harassing his Department of Child Services case manager to the point that she quit her job and moved to another county lost an appeal of his conviction Thursday, failing to convince the appellate court that the offense didn’t occur in Indiana.
IPAC chief Powell stepping down in October; successor chosen
A new leader has been selected to head the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council as longtime executive director David Powell announced his retirement from the role Thursday. Powell has been a leading Statehouse voice advocating on criminal law matters for nearly a decade.
Unruly defendant rightly tossed from court, COA rules
A Montgomery County man thrown out of his own trial for disruptive conduct has failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he was wrongly denied his right to be present. But the appellate panel did vacate one of the man’s convictions on double jeopardy grounds.
Indiana Supreme Court blocks disputed Brownsburg annexation
Brownsburg has lost its final bid to annex nearly 4,500 acres of land after fighting residents who objected all the way to the Indiana Supreme Court. Justices ruled the town “did not satisfy its burden of proving it had met the statutory requirements for annexing the disputed territory.”
Man appeals convictions in double murder over Prada purse
A Fort Wayne man convicted of fatally shooting two people while trying to retrieve a luxury purse is appealing his convictions and 170-year sentence.
Conviction upheld in robbery after iPhone exchange
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed an Elkhart student’s robbery conviction after concluding there was sufficient evidence to support that she stole money in the presence of the cash’s owner.
Appeals court trims sentence for Muncie man in bomb case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has overturned one of several convictions and trimmed the sentence for a central Indiana man who tried to kill his former girlfriend with a homemade bomb. The rulings in the case of 40-year-old Lionel Ray Mackey Jr. of Muncie will apparently reduce his prison term from 101 years to 94½ years.
Man who sold rental mower loses appeal over Hamilton County venue
A lawn mower thief failed to convince an appellate court that Hamilton County was an improper venue for his case because the theft did not actually occur until the mower’s signed rental agreement expired one day later in another county.
Justices affirm denial of parolee’s sentence modification
A man seeking to modify his already served sentence failed to convince the Indiana Supreme Court to accept his argument, though the high court rejected his position for a different reason than the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Res judicata leads to remand of CHINS determination
Saying it was “troubled” by how the Department of Child Services chose to litigate two nearly back-to-back child welfare cases, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a trial court to re-evaluate a 2018 CHINS petition without relying on facts that were available for litigation during a 2017 CHINS proceeding.