he St. Joseph Superior Court Judicial Nominating Committee interviewed 15 candidates today to fill a vacancy on St. Joseph Superior Court. The vacancy will be created when Judge William T. Means retires at the end of this month.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed today with a District Court's dismissal of a woman's complaint against the federal government, finding she had stated a claim for relief following her dismissal from her job as a result of a Federal Protective Service investigation.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court decision to allow a couple to inspect a company’s financial statements, finding the trial court relied only on an affidavit – and not testimony – to allow the inspection. In Bacompt Systems, Inc. v. Angelina Peck and David C. Peck, No. 29A02-0708-CV-646, the Pecks made separate written requests to view Bacompt’s financial documents. The Pecks, who lived in Pennsylvania, owned approximately 25 percent of the company’s stock. Prior to David C. Peck’s termination…
With a legal aid agency closing in Fort Wayne, what's ahead for other legal aid providers in Indiana?
Within the Hoosier legal community, Richard S. Shepard may get the most recognition as the father of Indiana’s chief justice.But the Evansville man’s life stands out on its own, ranging from island-hopping invasions in World War II to being a franchiser who helped pioneer the fast-food revolution of McDonald’s.The 87-year-old father of Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard died Sunday in Ft. Myers, Fla.Born in Chicago to Earle L. and Mary Schilling Shepard on May 11, 1921, Richard Shepard was part…
The Indiana Supreme Court has received an honorable mention in an international awards competition for its work on major technology initiatives, the court announced today.
An Indiana Court of Appeals panel disagrees about whether or not a parent who uses day care when he or she isn’t working is entitled to a child-support tax credit.In Craig Cross v. Victoria Cross, No. 49A05-0802-CV-94, authoring Judge Elaine Brown and Judge Paul Mathias ruled the trial court erred in ordering father Craig Cross to pay $30 more a week to pay for Victoria Cross’ work-related day care for their adult child with autism. At issue is whether or not the…
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the 17-year sentence for a woman convicted of prostituting her daughter, finding her sentence was appropriate and that an even longer sentence could be justified.
In the first of its kinds for any federal appellate court, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of an Indiana woman who claimed she was wrongly fired for taking time off work to have in vitro fertilization.The 7th Circuit issued its decision on the Illinois case Wednesday in Cheryl Hall v. Nalco Co., No. 06-3684, a case that could have implications for women workers across the country. The appellate panel reversed a ruling from U.S. District Judge David…
A $42 million class action lawsuit involving Indiana state employees is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 19 in Marion Superior Court. The lawsuit was brought by state employees who worked more hours than other state employees in comparable jobs. In Paula Brattain, et al. v. Richmond State Hospital, et al., No. 49D11-0108-CP-1309, the class seeks compensation from the state for an estimated 15,000 state employees who were required to work a 40-hour week while some employees in similar positions at…
The Indiana Court of Appeals used a defendant's appeal today to clarify that inappropriate sentence claims and abuse of discretion claims are to be analyzed separately.
An Indiana attorney often in trouble with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission was convicted Friday of crimes against a woman in a wheelchair. Northern Indiana attorney Michael Haughee was convicted of sexual battery and criminal confinement, both Class D felonies, and interference with the reporting of a crime, a Class A misdemeanor. Haughee was arrested in October 2006 following an incident at the woman’s home. Haughee claimed he went to the woman’s house to register her to vote. At the…
Indiana has lost a longtime Marion County judge who’s been on the probate bench for three decades and was considered one of the state’s top probate jurists.Marion Superior Judge Charles Deiter, 71, who presided over the court’s probate division, lost a battle to cancer this morning, according to his colleague and longtime friend Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.”He was a wonderful judge, someone who was well-loved by everyone in the community and on the bench,” said Judge Pratt, who said the two…
The Indiana Supreme Court granted two transfers this week.Justices will consider an Indiana State University case involving unemployment benefits for a discharged university professor, and another case delving into the attorney general’s power to demand discovery in consumer complaint investigations.One transfer comes in the combined appeals of Liberty Publishing Inc. and Nu-Sash of Indianapolis v. Steve Carter, No. 49A02-0606-CV-502, which the state’s appellate court ruled on June 25. The appeals court affirmed Marion Superior Court judgments that the attorney general has the…
For the second time this year, a Baker & Daniels attorney has been named athletic director at a university in the state. Indiana University selected partner Fred Glass as its new athletic director today.
The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments in a case regarding the state’s sex offender residency law March 31 at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis.In State of Indiana v. Anthony W. Pollard, Pollard is a convicted sex offender who has lived for 20 years within 1,000 feet of a property where children could gather. He was charged for violating Indiana Code 35-42-4-11 and told that he could no longer live in his home. Pollard argues the law was…
The Marion Superior Court Family Resource Center – created by the Family Court Project for families with legal disputes – opens Monday and will offer easier access to information about legal and social services resources. The center will provide resources and referrals for various services such as domestic violence, protective orders, substance-abuse treatment options, and how to find an attorney. Residents filing pro se will be able to view videos that walk them through the self-representation process, as well as use…
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a jury award and remanded for a new trial after ruling there was insufficient evidence to support an affirmative defense of a failure to mitigate damages instruction to the jury because a plaintiff failed to have surgery. In Elwood and Lila Simmons v. Erie Insurance Exchange, No. 32A04-0710-CV-552, the couple appealed a judgment awarding them each $10,000 following an automobile accident involving Elwood and another driver, who was at fault. They filed a complaint seeking underinsured…
A former Marion Superior Court judge and Indianapolis City-County councilor died March 5 of natural causes. Judge Z. Mae Jimison was the first African-American woman to serve as judge in Marion Superior Court. Judge Jimison, 64, served on the bench from 1996 to 2002 and spent much of that time creating and supervising Marion County’s Drug Court. In 1999, she applied to become a justice on the Indiana Supreme Court after Justice Myra C. Selby announced she would step down to return to…
Judge John Tinder, formerly of the U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, now on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, released his first authored opinion today with the federal appellate court. Judge Tinder joined the 7th Circuit in January. Judge Tinder wrote the 22-page opinion in Jeanette Petts v. Rockledge Furniture LLC, a division of Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., No. 07-1989, in which he and Judges Kenneth Ripple and Diane Sykes affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court, Western…