Murder defendant’s trial attorney ineffective, COA rules
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the denial of a man’s post-conviction relief petition, finding his trial counsel was ineffective and his petition was not barred by laches.
Indiana Court of Appeals
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Appeals court reverses adoption petition
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed an adoption petition after it found the adoptive mother did not participate in a sufficient background check and the court should have combined the adoption proceedings with a paternity hearing that was also occurring at the same time.
COA: Unreturned warrant doesn’t justify trial delay
A man’s criminal charges will be dismissed after Indiana Court of Appeals found the fact that a warrant for his arrest was not returned to trial court didn’t mean the court was absolved of its responsibility to grant him the speedy trial he asked for.
Appeals court affirms reinstatement of drug sentence
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the reinstatement of a woman’s sentence after she was terminated from drug court, finding a request for new counsel she made was too late and a stay of her drug court supervision was meant to help her, not harm her.
COA dismisses appeal of agreed judgment
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld long-standing precedent when it dismissed an appeal of an agreed judgment between a law firm and a couple that accused the firm of malpractice.
Appeals court affirms town’s annexation ordinance is void
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a town’s failure to include roads in an annexation ordinance where it sought to annex two pieces of land rendered the ordinance void.
COA: Judge’s comments do not require dismissal of charges
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a trial court judge’s inappropriate comments during trial did not “goad” the defense into asking for a mistrial and affirmed denial of the defense’s motion to dismiss child molesting, rape and sexual misconduct charges against the defendant.
COA upholds kidnapper’s sex offender status
A prisoner at the Indiana Department of Correction failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his sex offender classification should be dropped as the COA found it did not violate the ex post facto clause of the Indiana Constitution.
Statute of limitations bars rate hike claim
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled the statute of limitations had expired for a member of a power cooperative to challenge its parent company’s change from state to federal regulation and upheld summary judgment for the parent company.
COA: Notice of sale was mailed within required time period
The Indiana Court of Appeals found notice of a tax sale was mailed 21 days before the sale took place as prescribed by Indiana Code, so it affirmed the denial of a man’s motion to set aside tax deeds on property he used to own.
COA majority finds double jeopardy violations on rehearing
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on rehearing that a man’s two convictions for resisting law enforcement violated Indiana’s double jeopardy prohibition and remanded the case to trial court to vacate one of them.
Court affirms bank entitled to foreclose on mortgage
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the foreclosure on a man’s mortgage after it found a mistake in making the deed for the property did not mean the man did not own it at the time of a modification agreement.
COA: Juvenile court has no jurisdiction to modify custody agreement
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a juvenile court does not have jurisdiction to modify a paternity court’s custody order and sent the case back to the lower court.
COA majority: Mayor has power to terminate utility superintendent
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in a split decision Wednesday for former city of Lawrence Utilities Board Superintendent Carlton Curry, finding the newly elected mayor had authority to terminate Curry’s employment and therefore Curry can't prevail on a wrongful discharge claim.
COA affirms $147,000 judgment against smelter manufacturer
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a $147,000 judgment against a manufacturer of lead smelters, finding the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it entered default judgment against the company when it did not respond properly to a complaint.
Court of Appeals names 7 CLEO interns
Seven students from three Indiana law schools have been named 2016 Carr L. Darden Conference for Legal Education Opportunity program interns.
COA: Mother justified in deciding not to work as doctor
In a child support case in which a man challenged the decision by his son’s mother to quit her job as a doctor to stay at home with her children, the Indiana Court of Appeals found she had just cause to do so based on the sons’ special needs.
Suspended attorney’s UPL convictions upheld
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a suspended Elkhart attorney’s convictions of practicing law by a non-attorney after ruling there is sufficient evidence he continued to provide legal work after he was disciplined by the Indiana Supreme Court two years ago.
Division of judgment in failed care facility financing affirmed
A former Indiana lawmaker and his business partners must pay a pro rata share of a deficiency judgment over defaulted financing for a rehabilitation care facility in Liberty, Indiana, the Court of Appeals affirmed Tuesday.
Although unlicensed in county, contractor still owed for work
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a contractor violated the Home Improvement Contracts Act when he misled a family into thinking he was locally licensed and voided the contract between the two. However, the court said he should still be paid for the work he did because the family would be unjustly enriched if he was not paid.