COA traveling in Marion, Knox counties for arguments this week
Two Indiana appellate panels will leave the Statehouse courtroom this week to hear arguments across the state.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Divided COA reverses CHINS finding
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a finding that a Marion County child was a child in need of services, with most of the appellate panel finding insufficient evidence to support the determination. The dissenting judge, however, urged caution in the face of a potentially dangerous situation.
Supreme Court upholds conviction against woman who violated pastor’s protective order
A Greene County woman convicted of violating a protective order obtained by her former pastor has lost her appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court, which found sufficient evidence to support her third invasion of privacy conviction on Friday.
Supreme Court upholds standalone voluntary manslaughter charge, conviction
In an unusual case involving a voluntary manslaughter charge being brought without a related murder charge, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that voluntary manslaughter can be brought as a standalone charge, and a Marion County man’s conviction on that charge was proper.
Supreme Court considers whether to revise ‘illegal’ sentence
The central issue the Indiana Court of Appeals identified in its decision to reverse a man’s attempted residential entry conviction didn’t come up much during the case’s oral arguments before the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday.
Justices hear police officer sexual assault cases
Two cases from opposite ends of the state jointly came before the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday for guidance on the same question: if a police officer sexually assaults a citizen while on duty, should municipalities be held liable for the officer’s actions as the employer?
Appellate court upholds attorney fees in CAFO dispute
An Indiana trial court properly awarded attorney fees to two livestock organizations that consulted on the construction of a Hendricks County feeding operation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in an opinion that also found the subpoenas issued to the organizations were overly broad.
COA upholds summary judgment to Tipton Schools
A central Indiana school corporation was properly granted summary judgment on a parent’s negligence claims, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday, determining the corporation was immune under the Indiana Tort Claims Act.
COA upholds adoption without mother’s consent
In a case a judge said represents “how substance abuse is savaging the familial bonds within Indiana and around the country,” the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the adoption of a southern Indiana child without the mother’s consent after finding the mother’s substance abuse made her unfit.
Appellate court orders dismissal of widow’s tort claims
A widow who sued her husband’s employer for various breach and fraud allegations will not be able to continue her case after the Indiana Court of Appeals instructed the trial court to dismiss her claims on remand for failure to comply with the Indiana Tort Claims Act.
COA upholds classification of ‘high-hazard dam’
A Grant County couple must inspect and repair their self-constructed dam after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a Department of Natural Resources classification of the dam as “high-hazard.”
COA upholds Kentucky man’s conviction for killing Indiana teen
A Kentucky man convicted in the shooting death of an Indiana teen lost his appeal of his murder conviction after the Indiana Court of Appeals found sufficient, properly obtained evidence to support his conviction.
Conviction upheld against man who disrupted prosecutor’s office
A man who was convicted of trespassing after he refused to leave the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office until his traffic tickets were dismissed lost an appeal Tuesday.
Supreme Court upholds DOC’s lethal injection protocols
The Indiana Department of Correction can alter its lethal injection protocols without going through a rule-making process because such protocols are internal procedures without the effect of law, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a decision affirming the dismissal of a death row inmate’s challenge to Indiana’s lethal injection cocktail.
Sex offender statute to come before Supreme Court
A sex offender convicted in 2010 must make his case to the Indiana Supreme Court as to why a 2015 law should not bar him from attending his son’s school events after the high court granted the state’s petition to transfer the case last week.
COA: Burglary victim met definition of ‘unavailable’ at trial
Multiple felony burglary convictions have been upheld against a Tippecanoe County man after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the trial court did not err in admitting a victim’s video deposition as evidence during trial.
COA upholds denial of motion to set aside paternity
A legal father seeking to set aside paternity of his two non-biological children has lost his appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals, which found the father failed to meet the legal requirements for paternity rescission.
COA reinstates wrongful death case against road contractors
A wrongful death case against a Carroll County contractor and all but one of its subcontractors will continue after the Indiana Court of Appeals found numerous material questions of fact as to whether the companies owed a duty to a man who died while driving through a construction zone in 2013.
COA upholds transfer of dog-shooting case to Warren County
The Tippecanoe Circuit Court properly surrendered jurisdiction of a dog-shooting case because none of the incidents giving rise to the case, including the shooting, took place in Tippecanoe County, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
COA affirms reversal of juvenile firearm adjudication
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld its decision to dismiss a firearm-related adjudication against a juvenile after granting the state’s petition for rehearing to address what the court called a fundamental misunderstanding of its original decision.