Munster advances to national We the People competition
Students from Munster High School won the state championship in the We the People competition Sunday and will represent Indiana in the national competition next year.
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Articles
Job opening: Indiana Supreme Court justice
Lawyers interested in becoming the next justice on the Indiana Supreme Court have until Jan. 27 to apply for the opening created by Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard’s upcoming retirement.
Judge: Governor can be deposed
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels shouldn’t be excused from appearing for a deposition in a lawsuit challenging the cancelled multi-million dollar contract with IBM to modernize the state’s welfare system, according to Marion Superior Judge David Dreyer.
AG wants justices to consider prosecutor disqualification
Arguing that prosecutors must face an actual conflict of interest before they can be removed from a case, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General wants the state justices to take the high-profile case of a former state trooper being tried for murders that happened more than a decade ago.
Opinions Dec. 16, 2011 ILD
7th Circuit Court of Appeals had issued no Indiana opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Will Arline v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A04-1103-CR-133
Criminal. Affirms conviction of three counts of Class C felony forgery.
Robert Morelock v. State of Indiana (NFP)
29A02-1108-CR-736
Criminal. Affirms sentence for Class D felony invasion of privacy.
Arthur Dedrick Green v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1105-CR-230
Criminal. Affirms sentence for Class A felony voluntary manslaughter.
Frederick Allen v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1101-CR-2
Criminal. Affirms conviction of murder.
Mark Koers v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A04-1105-CR-243
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s denial of motion to suppress evidence.
Diana L. Gipson v. Craig G. Gipson (NFP)
79A05-1103-DR-138
Domestic relation. Remands to the trial court to recalculate spousal maintenance award, holding the court did not account for the disparity in earnings potential.
Harvey Byrd v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1106-CR-478
Criminal. Affirms convictions of Class B felony robbery, Class B felony criminal confinement and Class C felony carrying a handgun without a license.
Chris Fields v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A04-1105-CR-223
Criminal. Reverses conviction of Class B felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
Mario J. Gaston v. State of Indiana (NFP)
84A01-1105-CR-198
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony aggravated battery.
Jeryl R. Bingham v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1107-PC-409
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Indiana Supreme Court and Indiana Tax Court had issued no opinions at IL deadline.
Opinions Dec. 16, 2011
Indiana Court of Appeals
Justin M. Corwin v. State of Indiana
79A04-1005-CR-296
Criminal. Reverses conviction of Class C felony possession of a controlled substance, holding that a police officer exceeded the limits of a search as defined by Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 30 (1968), and therefore, the evidence he obtained in the search should not have been admitted at trial.
In first impression ruling, COA reverses trial court on illegal search
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that a police officer went one step too far when he opened a pill bottle he found in a man’s pocket.
Governor names new general counsel
Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Friday that Anita Kolkmeier Samuel, assistant general counsel and policy director for the governor, has been named general counsel. Samuel replaces David Pippen, who has resigned to accept a position with Indianapolis law firm Bose McKinney & Evans.
63 claimants will accept settlement in State Fair stage collapse
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General has heard from all 65 claimants who were offered settlements stemming from the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair in August, and 63 will accept the settlements.
Opinions Dec. 15, 2011 ILD
Indiana Court of Appeals
P.J. v. Review Board of the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development, and Indianapolis Public Schools (NFP)
93A02-1102-EX-64
Agency appeal. Affirms determination that P.J. voluntarily left his employment without good cause and was ineligible for unemployment compensation.
Donald S. Forker v. State of Indiana (NFP)
28A04-1106-CR-364
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class B felony dealing in a controlled substance.
Robert D. Spangler v. State of Indiana (NFP)
26A01-1106-CR-284
Criminal. Affirms sentence imposed after Spangler pleaded guilty but mentally ill to murder.
Brad A. Morcombe v. Kim D. Morcombe (NFP)
50A03-1104-DR-172
Domestic relation. Affirms division of assets.
Clara Combs v. State of Indiana (NFP)
72A05-1104-CR-148
Criminal. Affirms sentence for dealing in a schedule II controlled substance as a Class B felony.
Good Host, LLC v. Advanced Interventional Pain Center, LLC (NFP)
49A05-1105-PL-217
Civil plenary. Affirms finding that Good Host failed to state a claim for breach of contract under the theory of an assignment of the lease. Reverses dismissal of Good Host’s equitable assignment claim and remands for further proceedings.
P. Bryan Lilly, D.O. v. Tammy Meserve, as Natural Guardian of Samantha Jo Aders, Darien Aders, and Mason James Aders, minors (NFP)
19A04-1104-CT-193
Civil tort. Affirms in part and reverses in part judgment in favor of Meserve on her complaint alleging Dr. Lilly’s negligence resulted in Chad Aders’ death. Any error in the admission of Exhibit 4 or the expert testimony relating the content of the autopsy report did not affect Lilly’s substantial rights and was harmless. The trial court improperly denied Meserve’s request for attorney fees. Remands for the calculation of such.
In Re: (Supervised) Estate of Robert E. Bradley, Decedent; Phyllis C. Bradley v. Martha T. Starkey (NFP)
49A02-1103-EU-245
Estate, unsupervised. Affirms probate court’s order on the emergency petition to recover estate assets filed by Starkey.
Joshua Hudson v. State of Indiana (NFP)
87A05-1105-PC-280
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Najee Sabree Q. Blackman v. Samantha Maddox, et al. (NFP)
34A05-1106-CT-379
Civil tort. Affirms dismissal of Blackman’s complaint for damages.
R.D. v. Review Board of the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development, et al. (NFP)
93A02-1103-EX-210
Agency appeal. Reverses denial of unemployment benefits.
Theresa L. Trensey and Louis L. Roth, Sr. v. Garland D. Anderson, M.D., Parkview Medical Group, and Unnamed Hospital, Inc. d/b/a Unnamed Hospital (NFP)
02A05-1104-CT-222
Civil tort. Affirms summary judgment in favor of Dr. Anderson, Parkview Medical Group and the unnamed hospital on the parents’ complaint for damages alleging medical malpractice.
Indiana Tax Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Opinions Dec. 15, 2011
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Adrianna Brown, et al. v. Columbia Sussex Corp., et al.
10-3849
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division, Chief Judge Philip P. Simon.
Civil. Affirms dismissal of 53 of the 224 plaintiffs who had their civil rights and breach of contract claims dismissed because they continually missed both formal and informal deadlines. Holds that, in the context of a multi-party or multi-claim suit, a premature notice of appeal from the dismissal of a party or claim will ripen upon the entry of a belated Rule 54(b) judgment under Rule 4(a)(2) and FirsTier. The District Court was within its discretion to find that the appellants acted willfully, in bad faith, or with fault.
Justices rule man not disenfranchised under the Infamous Crimes Clause
The Indiana Supreme Court hesitantly answered Thursday a certified question from the federal court as to whether misdemeanor battery is an “infamous crime” under Article II, Section 8 of the Indiana Constitution.
IJA honors colleague and journalist
An Allen Superior judge and a Louisville journalist received the Community Relations Committee awards this year from the Indiana Judges Association.
7th Circuit affirms dismissal of plaintiffs
Before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals could rule on the dismissal of multiple plaintiffs from a civil rights and breach of contract lawsuit, the appellate court had to determine if it had jurisdiction to rule on the plaintiffs’ appeal.
Opinions Dec. 14, 2011 ILD
Indiana Court of Appeals
The Jefferson County Board of Zoning Appeals v. Harry and Eva Elburg (NFP)
39A01-1012-CC-664
Civil collection. Reverses denial of the board of zoning appeals’ motion to dismiss the Elburgs’ petition for writ of certiorari as it related to a conditional use and affirms the denial of the BZA’s motion to dismiss the Elburgs’ petition for writ of certiorari with regard to the variance issue. Remands for further proceedings.
Lawrence Ray Holley II v. State of Indiana (NFP)
79A02-1005-PC-652
Post conviction. Grants rehearing to expand upon the mailbox rule and affirms original decision to affirm the denial of Holley’s petition for post-conviction relief.
Douglas Norman and Theresa Norman v. State of Indiana (NFP)
15A01-1102-CR-74
Criminal. Affirms the Normans’ convictions of Class D felony money laundering as well as Doug’s convictions of Class C felony corrupt business influence, Class C felony forgery and Class A misdemeanor intimidation.
Quintin D. Holmes v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A03-1104-CR-161
Criminal. Affirms convictions of and sentence for Class A felony dealing in cocaine, Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement and Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Alvareze Isom v. State of Indiana (NFP)
18A04-1106-CR-316
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class C felony robbery.
Darrell Stephens v. State of Indiana (NFP)
30A04-1105-PC-232
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Clark County Board of Aviation Commissioners v. Margaret A. Dreyer (NFP)
10A01-1012-PL-659
Civil plenary. Affirms order by Clark Circuit Court that the aviation board pay Dreyer $865,000 in compensation for land that was taken by the board through the use of eminent domain.
Maria J. Villarreal v. State of Indiana (NFP)
57A05-1104-CR-209
Criminal. Affirms sentence for Class C felony forgery.
The Indiana Supreme Court and Indiana Court of Appeals had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Opinions Dec. 14, 2011
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Susan Kellar v. Summit Seating Inc.
11-1221
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, Magistrate Judge Christopher A. Nuechterlein
Civil. Affirms summary judgment for Summit Seating on Kellar’s lawsuit that she is entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act for work performed before the official start of her work shift. Concludes that Summit did not know or have reason to know that Kellar was working before her shift.
Grand jury indicts 2 attorneys, real estate broker
A grand jury in South Bend has returned a 14-count criminal indictment against two attorneys and a real estate broker from central Indiana over a state lease deal in Elkhart.
Woman loses appeal for overtime pay
A sewing manager who sued her former employer to obtain overtime pay for work she did before her shift started lost her appeal because the employer didn’t know that she was working prior to her shift, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Evidence properly admitted under independent source doctrine
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found no plain error in a District Court’s decision to admit evidence of a telephone number on a defendant’s cell phone in 2007 at the man’s trial several years later.
Judges reverse termination of parents’ rights
In a case filled with several errors and discrepancies, the Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the termination of parental rights of a mother and two fathers because the Department of Child Services failed to meet the burden of proving that termination is in the best interest of the children.