Articles

CHINS statutory deadline overridden by trial rule

In a case of first impression, the Indiana Supreme Court found a trial rule trumped the CHINS statutory deadline after a mother was first granted a continuance, then moved to have the case dismissed because the court took longer than 120 days to complete the factfinding.

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‘I wanted to serve’: Justice David says service at core of his time on high court

Justice Steven David was never specifically asked to be on the Indiana Supreme Court. Even so, when Justice Ted Boehm retired, David, now the longest-serving justice, said he decided to take a shot at serving Indiana at the highest judicial level. “I’m not sure how I got here, but I’m here,” David said in an interview with Indiana Lawyer. “I wanted to serve.”

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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.

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Supreme Court rejects DCS ‘piecemeal litigation’ in CHINS cases

In response to the question of whether the Department of Child Services can file successive CHINS petitions based on evidence available at the time of the original petition — a practice that has drawn ire from the Indiana Court of Appeals — the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that such a practice is barred. However, the specifics of the case the court addressed Thursday did not require reversal.

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