COA finalists await governor’s selection
Two trial court judges with a breadth of experience hearing criminal and civil matters and a public defender who’s tried hundreds of appeals are finalists to be the next Indiana Court of Appeals judge.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Reversal: IDACS error no basis to suppress meth evidence
Southern Indiana authorities who arrested a man for buying pseudoephedrine had probable cause even though the suspect had not been convicted of a prior methamphetamine charge, as a state database reported.
Back pain, fear for son no basis for unemployment benefits
An employee who voluntarily left employment was not wrongly denied unemployment benefits by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Justices strip adoption, reinstate statute COA struck down
An adoptive maternal grandmother who the Court of Appeals ruled provided care in her grandchildren’s best interests despite a 1997 neglect conviction is legally barred from adopting them, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled. Justices also rebuked a COA determination that the statute was unconstitutional as applied.
Judges split over whether to reinstate jury verdict
The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered a jury verdict, tossed out by the trial court in a negligence case stemming from a car accident, reinstated because the judge did not follow Trial Rule 59(J). The dissenting judge believed the trial court should have the opportunity to supplement its order first.
COA finds homeowners association committed slander of title
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in favor of an Iowa couple, finding the homeowners association where the couple lived and subsequently rented out their home committed slander of title. The homeowners association recorded a lien against their home after finding the couple did not comply with the covenant’s requirements when leasing their home.
2 judges, public defender selected as COA judge finalists
Two trial court judges with a breadth of experience hearing criminal and civil matters and a public defender who’s tried hundreds of appeals are finalists to be the next Indiana Court of Appeals judge.
Nominating Commission names 3 finalists
The next Indiana Court of Appeals judge will be Marion Superior Judge Robert R. Altice Jr., Wabash Superior Judge Christopher M. Goff or Patricia McMath of the Marion County Public Defender Agency. They are the three finalists that the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission selected Wednesday after holding interviews most of the day.
COA reverses blanket exclusion for testimony of eavesdropping officers
In a split decision, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided on interlocutory appeal that a trial court should not have issued a blanket exclusion order preventing all of the officers who eavesdropped on a defendant’s conversation with his attorney from testifying in any matter in the case.
Wife loses appeal of custody arrangement, contempt finding
A trial court did not abuse its discretion when it found a wife in contempt of the court’s preliminary order regarding parenting time and visitation and when it entered a custody arrangement not requested by the parties, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
COA: Accomplice liability instruction is harmless error
Although the trial court erred in instructing the jury during a man’s murder and attempted murder trial regarding accomplice liability as it applied to attempted murder, the error was harmless, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
INDOT not entitled to immunity in wrongful death action
The Indiana Department of Transportation failed to convince the Court of Appeals that it is entitled to discretionary function immunity under the Indiana Tort Claims Act in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of a construction worker killed while working on an interstate project.
COA reverses probation revocation of man unable to fully pay restitution
A trial court should not have revoked the probation of a man who was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution as a condition of his probation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. The man was able to prove that he could not fully pay off the balance owed because he was unable to obtain a reverse mortgage on his home.
Care facility’s petition for judicial review barred by res judicata
A Merrillville nursing facility’s third petition seeking judicial review of the state Department of Health’s decision to deny a full license to the facility was barred by a previous petition for judicial review of the matter, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Evidence seized from probationer’s roommate violated 4th Amendment
The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the partial denial of a man’s request to suppress drug evidence found during a routine warrantless search of the residence he shared with a man on probation. The probationer only consented to searches based on reasonable suspicion.
Judicial candidate serving as juror was not fundamental error
A man convicted of child molesting argued that an attorney and judicial candidate should not have been allowed to serve as a juror on his trial. But he failed to object to her placement on the jury at the time of the trial, and the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected his claim of fundamental error.
COA orders foreclosed Golden Corral to be in sheriff’s sale
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the holding of a Lake County court that allowed the mortgage holder of a restaurant in Merrillville to immediately take possession of the parcel of land. Under Indiana law, the parcel should go into a sheriff’s sale, the majority held.
Boy injured by pig at YMCA camp loses appeal
A trial court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of a YMCA camp and other defendants in a case seeking damages after an 11-year-old boy was bitten by a pig.
Cardiologist who lost privileges loses appeal
An Indianapolis cardiologist who lost his hospital privileges lost an appeal of his lawsuit against Indiana University Health and affiliated doctors Friday.
COA upholds termination of mother’s parental rights
The Indiana Court of Appeals found no abuse of discretion by a trial court when it denied a mother’s request to continue her termination of parental rights hearing for several months, when she expected to be released from incarceration. The mother was unable to prove that she would definitely be out of jail at that time.