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Judge takes on death penalty decision

In the week ahead, an Evansville judge could be the first Hoosier jurist to hand down a death sentence since state law changed in 2002. Vanderburgh Circuit Judge Carl Heldt is scheduled to conduct a sentencing hearing Friday morning for Daniel Ray Wilkes, who jurors convicted last month on three counts of murder for the April 2006 slayings of an Evansville mother and her two daughters, ages 13 and 8.While they agreed on the guilt phase of the trial, jurors came…

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Applicants sought for $90,000 in grant funds

The Heartland Pro Bono Council, which serves Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby counties in central Indiana, received a cy pres award of more than $65,000 late last year and the organization is looking to distribute the money in the upcoming months. That amount, along with other funds the HPBC has received in cy pres monies in recent years – totaling $90,000 – will be given in one grant or multiple grants sometime after June 5, 2008.Heartland is…

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2 Supreme Court arguments Thursday

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear two arguments Thursday, including a death penalty appeal by a man whose appeal has already once been denied by the justices.

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Lawyers to debate police department control

The Marion County prosecutor’s radio show, “Crime Beat,” Sunday will address the current concern about whether Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, who took office earlier this month, or Sheriff Frank Anderson should directly manage the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.Anderson has overseen the IMPD since the merger of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and the Indianapolis Police Department Jan. 1, 2007, following an ordinance of the city-county council. Ballard has expressed the possibility of management of the police department going to the mayor…

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Hammond to host appeals court arguments

The Indiana Court of Appeals travels to Hammond April 7 to hear arguments in a case involving a dispute after the sale of real estate. Arguments begin at 10 a.m. CST in the Lake Superior Court, Civil Division No. 1 Courtroom, 232 Russell St., Hammond. In the case, Gladys E. Tobias v. Margaret and Thomas Mannella, No. 45A03-0708-CV-373, on appeal from Lake Superior Court, Judges Patricia Riley, James Kirsch, and Margret Robb are asked to decide whether the trial court erred…

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7th Circuit rules on FMLA case

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a medical-leave decision from an Indianapolis judge who’s since joined that appellate bench.

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Study to examine trial court reform

The Indiana Supreme Court's Division of State Court Administration is working with the Indiana University Center for Urban Policy and Environment to study ways to make the state's trial courts more equitable and efficient.

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Justices affirm sentence in child torture case

For the first time, the Indiana Supreme Court today affirmed a trial court’s sentence of life without parole for a Lafayette mother who had pleaded guilty to torturing and killing her stepdaughter.In Michelle Gauvin v. State of Indiana, No. 79S00-0702-CR-65, the state’s highest court ruled 4-1 in a direct appeal that Tippecanoe Superior Judge Thomas Busch correctly sentenced the Lafayette mother for murder, confinement, and neglect of her 4-year-old stepdaughter, Aiyana. The girl died from head trauma in March 2005 after months…

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Attorney spares client death sentence

An Indianapolis defense attorney who is nationally recognized as a death-penalty expert capped a two-month trial in New Hampshire this week, successfully keeping her client off death row and preventing him from becoming the first person to be executed in that state in 70 years.

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Judges: Evidence proves scienter in fraud case

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld fines against two men convicted of defrauding investors, finding a reasonable jury would have found them guilty of scienter even though the defendants didn’t take the stand. In Thursday’s ruling in United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Melvin R. Lyttle and Paul E. Knight, Nos. 07-2466, 07-2467, Melvin Lyttle and Paul Knight appealed the $110,000 fines each got following a grant of summary judgment in favor of the SEC on a variety of…

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State settles with legal malpractice insurer

A legal malpractice insurance carrier has agreed to pay $16.5 million to Indiana's insurance department, settling a federal lawsuit that had come on the heels of a state malpractice claim where an Indianapolis law firm got hit with an $18 million verdict.

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Court: evidence doesn’t support sentence

The Indiana Supreme Court threw out a life-without-parole sentence for felony murder because there wasn’t proof the killing was “intentional,” as state law requires for that penalty.In Hobert Alan Pittman v. State of Indiana, No. 31S00-0610-CR-355, Hobert Alan Pittman appealed his convictions and sentence of two consecutive life sentences for murdering his father and stepgrandmother, as well as a 73-year sentence for convictions of attempted murder, theft, auto theft, and conspiracy to commit burglary. Pittman’s stepmother, Linda, and stepgrandmother, Myrtle, were returning…

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Kazakhstan group visits Marion County courts

A group of about two dozen public administrators from Kazakhstan are in Indianapolis today learning about the state and local courts systems. The group visited the Marion County courts this afternoon.Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of Marion Superior Court welcomed them and gave an introduction about Marion County courts. She discussed the election process and the day-to-day work of a judge. After learning about our judicial system, the group toured several courtrooms and watched a jury trial, said Marion County Court Administrator Glenn…

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Court: Evidence shows car was a gift

In a case of first impression, the Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that a husband gave his wife a car as a gift, despite registering the title in both his name and his wife's name.

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Restitution can’t include security system costs

State statute doesn’t allow trial courts to order restitution to pay for installation of a security system in victims’ homes, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided today.Ruling on Keith Elton Rich v. State of Indiana, No. 79A05-0712-CR-687, the appellate court reversed Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Thomas Busch’s restitution order issued in October 2007. Rich had pleaded guilty to burglary and marijuana possession and received a 14-year sentence that was partially suspended to probation. As a condition of probation, he also was ordered to…

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National Crime Victims’ Rights Week events

To observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which kicked off April 13 and lasts through April 19, many communities in Indiana have organized events to recognize crime victims, survivors, and the service providers who come to their aid.Some events around the state include:Victim Assistance Candlelight Vigil, 5:30 p.m. today at the Allen County Courthouse, 715 S. Calhoun St., Fort Wayne. The event is sponsored by Fort Wayne Police Department Victim Assistance. Understanding & Investing in Children Trapped in Domestic Violence, 8…

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Counties, courts recover from flooding

Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner rushed to his downtown Franklin office on Saturday to save computers and files from floodwater.At first, water was about an inch high. Within an hour, the floodwater had creeped higher – he was being shocked while trying to salvage computers. The water suddenly reached 4 feet, making the prosecutor’s office look more like an aquarium than an office. Rushing floodwater rose even higher, crushing doors shut, trapping him inside so that he couldn’t even escape through…

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