7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Jermel C. Thomas
10-3566
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division,
Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr.
Criminal. Dismisses appeal, stating the District Court did not err in enforcing a plea agreement wherein Jermel Thomas had waived his right to appeal his sentence and conviction.
The Greene County courts and clerk have adopted the use of the Indiana Supreme Court online Odyssey Case Management System.
The final proposed Marion County Probate Rules and Probate Forms, which have been approved by the Marion Superior Court Executive Committee and the General Term of Marion Superior Court, are now available for review and comment.
The Indiana Supreme Court used an opinion Thursday to reaffirm the limitation described in Fletcher v. State on the judicial-temperance presumption.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. John L. Norris
10-1612
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Criminal. Affirms denial of motion to suppress evidence. The police officers were acting pursuant to a valid warrant and in a reasonable manner.
Indiana Supreme Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Lenn Ivy v. State of Indiana
49A04-1010-CR-662
Criminal. Affirms denial of motion to modify sentence. Ivy may not seek a modification of his sentence under the terms of his plea agreement.
Michael Dewayne Lloyd v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1011-CR-1390
Criminal. Affirms imposition of previously suspended sentence as a result of work release violations.
Marc A. Bernero v. State of Indiana, et al. (NFP)
49A02-1009-PL-1082
Civil plenary. Affirms summary judgment for the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office and the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles on Bernero’s complaint for declaratory judgment seeking enforcement of the State Employee Appeals Commission’s order rescinding his termination.
Willie Dumes v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1008-CR-910
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class C felony operating a motor vehicle after license was forfeited for life and revocation of probation.
L.H. v. D.H. (NFP)
15A04-1009-DR-552
Domestic relation. Affirms trial court did not abuse its discretion when it imputed minimum wage income to both mother and father. Reverses trial court’s retroactively modifying father’s child support obligation to a date prior to the filing of his petition to modify child support. Remands for further proceedings.
Indiana Tax Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. John L. Norris
10-1612
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Criminal. Affirms denial of motion to suppress evidence. The police officers were acting pursuant to a valid warrant and in a reasonable manner.
The Indiana Court of Appeals found a trial court abused its discretion when it didn’t consider a $160,000 change in value of a property when calculating marital assets and distributing marital property.
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard received the Richard M. Fairbanks Circle of Hope Award Wednesday in Indianapolis. He received the award at the 10th annual Fairbanks Circle of Hope Dinner.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s March Against Hunger challenge among law firms has raised the equivalent of nearly 144,000 pounds of food for needy Hoosiers.
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications has publicly admonished Beech Grove City Court Judge Charles W. Hunter for comments he made last year to an Indianapolis television reporter.
The Evansville Bar Association presented the James Bethel Gresham Freedom Award to Vanderburgh Circuit Judge Carl A. Heldt on April 29 at its annual Law Day dinner.
Finding a trial judge erred when granting a new trial because he didn’t make specific findings in setting aside a jury verdict, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the lower court and ordered the jury verdict reinstated.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed judgment in favor of a tenant in a security deposit dispute, ruling that the landlord did deliver an itemized damages letter within statutory deadlines.
Indiana Supreme Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jack M. Estes, II v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1009-CR-657
Criminal. Affirms sentence following revocation of probation.
Thomas James Newsom v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1008-CR-473
Criminal. Affirms conviction of and sentence for Class A felony conspiracy to commit murder.
Thomas D. Eckel v. State of Indiana (NFP)
30A01-1010-CR-522
Criminal. Affirms convictions of Class D felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated in a manner endangering a person while having a prior conviction within the past five years, and Class C misdemeanor operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body.
Michael Bracken v. State of Indiana (NFP)
23A05-1010-CR-667
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony methamphetamine manufacture and finding that Bracken is a habitual substance offender.
Cassandra Gardner v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1010-CR-1132
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A misdemeanor conversion.
A.B. v. Review Board (NFP)
93A02-1009-EX-988
Civil. Affirms denial of request for unemployment benefits.
Peggy Bracken v. Marine Corp. League Joseph Bray Det. Inc. (NFP)
84A05-1009-CT-593
Civil tort. Affirms grant of summary judgment for Marine Corp. League Joseph A. Bray Detachment Inc. with respect to Bracken’s slip and fall at the premises known as Northside Bingo.
Gary C. Williams v. State of Indiana (NFP)
57A05-1007-CR-416
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A felony possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex.
Indiana Tax Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Robert Eppl v. Christine DiGiacomo
45A03-1007-SC-402
Small claim. Reverses summary judgment for DiGiacomo and order that Eppl return DiGiacomo’s security deposit and pay her attorney fees. DiGiacomo’s mere delivery of the keys is not sufficient to demonstrate that Eppl actually accepted surrender of the premises and thereby released her from liability as of that date. Eppl’s itemization of damages letter was timely.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has joined a majority of other circuits nationwide in finding that the federal sex offender registration law is not a retroactive punishment on those who were convicted prior to 2006 and traveled after the law was enacted.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a homeowners’ citizen suit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act against a solid waste dump should be allowed despite two similar suits pending in state court filed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. However, the court split when determining whether the District Court erred by dismissing the homeowners’ suit based on the Colorado River abstention doctrine.
The Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Tax Court were closed today due to the primary elections.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Donald Leach
10-1786
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, Judge Robert L. Miller Jr.
Criminal. Affirms denial of Leach’s motion to dismiss his indictment for knowingly failing to register as a sex offender after traveling in interstate commerce in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. There is no ex post facto violation of the United States Constitution.
A group of teens from Munster High School finished 10th from a field of 52 in the national finals of We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution.