Surgeon loses malpractice appeal in amputation case
A northern Indiana orthopedic surgeon has lost his appeal in a medical negligence case brought by a patient who continued to experience pain in his hand following a finger amputation.
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Rush, David dissent in denial of appeal after joint mistrial request rejected
A man’s conviction in a domestic battery case after both defense and prosecution asked for a mistrial because a relative of the defendant communicated with a juror outside court will stand after the Indiana Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision chose not to hear the appeal. Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Justice Steven David published a dissent, believing the defendant had been prejudiced and was entitled to a new trial.
COA reverses denied for-cause challenge against unwilling juror, orders new trial
A wrongful death case will proceed to retrial after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a woman’s motion to strike a potential juror who expressed an unwillingness to decide the question of damages.
Justices approve 2020 jury pool master list
Indiana Supreme Court justices have approved the 2020 master list for jury pool assembly, reminding courts not to seek data from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Justices order new drunken driving trial after possible juror bias
A woman convicted on a drunken driving charge will get a new trial after the Indiana Supreme Court unanimously threw out her conviction on Friday. The justices remanded the Marion County case because the trial court did not hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant could have challenged a selected juror who later admitted that a family member had been killed by a drunken driver.
Pittsboro must pay officer more than $70K after wiretapping verdict
A Pittsboro law enforcement officer who won a $15,000 damages award on a claim that police officials were illegally recording his conversations has also been awarded more than $70,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
Danville man convicted in death of girlfriend’s 4-year-old
A Danville man has been convicted of murder in the November 2017 death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son.
Biased juror’s seating reverses post-conviction ruling on rehearing
An Indiana Court of Appeals panel admitted it erred in a prior post-conviction ruling, finding after rehearing that a man was entitled to a new trial because a clearly biased juror was seated in his child molesting trial.
Marion County judges offer cool, sweet thank you to jurors
Recently, Marion County jurors got another summons — this time an invitation to join judges, other jurors and their families in enjoying some ice cream. The Marion County Superior and Circuit Courts held its inaugural Juror Appreciation Day Aug. 24 at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, just north of downtown Indianapolis.
Judges serve ice cream and appreciation to jurors
Marion Superior and Circuit judges showed their appreciation to the people who answered the summons for jury duty by offering them ice cream and conversation on a summer afternoon.
Mistrial declared for man accused of murder, eating ex’s body parts
A judge in Jeffersonville has declared a mistrial for a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body. Jurors who had been selected from Hamilton County north of Indianapolis have been dismissed.
Trial begins for Clark County man accused of killing, eating parts of ex
A prosecutor has told jurors that a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body told police he had gone to her home “to talk some sense into her” after a breakup days earlier.
COA cautions about sending fetal remains to jury deliberations
Arguments about whether aborted fetal remains from a child molesting case were improperly provided to a jury for consideration and stored in the jury room refrigerator during deliberations were settled by an appellate court Wednesday.
Jury selection begins for Clark County man accused of murder, cannibalism
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body nearly five years ago. Prosecutors say Joseph Oberhansley, 38, broke into the Jeffersonville home of his 46-year-old ex-girlfriend, Tammy Jo Blanton, in September 2014, and then raped her, fatally stabbed her and ate parts of her body.
COA upholds denial of challenge to 6 med-mal jurors
A judge sitting on a medical malpractice case who denied for-cause challenges to six jurors did not abuse his discretion in denying the challenges, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled, pointing to the “substantial discretion” trial court judges have over voir dire.
Conviction affirmed for driver who stalked woman almost 70 miles
A man who followed a woman by car from Valparaiso to Warsaw has lost an appeal of his conviction and sentence for stalking. The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected his right-to-travel jury instruction arguments as well as his challenge to the evidence against him.
Alleged drug ring leader’s trial moved to Evansville
Richard Grundy III and four co-defendants first stood trial July 8 in Indianapolis on federal drug trafficking charges, but a mistrial was declared July 10 after a court order concerning jurors’ personal information was violated. Court documents show Grundy will now stand trial July 29 at the U.S. district court in Evansville.
COA affirms conviction over jury lunchtime instruction challenge
If there are no intervening proceedings between the reading of preliminary instructions and a jury being excused for lunch, trial courts are not required to give admonishments required under Indiana Code Section 35-27-2-4(a) more than once, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.
Black juror strike upheld despite lack of demeanor finding
A burglary conviction will stand after the Indiana Court of Appeals found race-neutral reasons to strike a black juror, though the appellate court did opine on best practices to avoid confusion in future Batson challenges.
Justices deny transfer to 2 cases that split COA
The Indiana Supreme Court considered and denied 18 petitions for transfer last week, including two cases that drew concerns from members of the Indiana Court of Appeals.