Opinions

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Terry Joe Smith
14-3744, 14-3721
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division. Judge William Lawrence.
Criminal. Affirms two convictions of excessive force against two individuals who were in police custody. Vacates 14-month sentence followed by two years of supervised release after finding the sentence to be light in comparison to similar cases. The judge was also required to give the entire sentence orally. Remands for full resentencing.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In Re the Marriage of: Courtney Carr v. Beth E. Carr
03A01-1505-DR-436
Domestic relation. Affirms in part and reverses in part dissolution order. The survivor benefit plan feature of Courtney Carr’s military pension should have been counted as a marital asset. Remands with instructions to count the survivor benefit plan as a marital asset and either make findings justifying a 65/35 split in favor of wife or reallocate the marital assets in accordance with the 60/40 split previously determined by the trial court.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Jerry E. Johnson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
27A02-1507-CR-793
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony theft.  

Indiana Supreme Court
Shane Keller v. State of Indiana
88S04-1506-CR-354
Criminal. Reverses the two convictions of Class B felony burglary for breaking and entering into a farmhouse. Remands for entry of two replacement convictions for burglary as Class C felonies and for resentencing accordingly. Finds the jury instructions which included language from a Court of Appeals decision erroneously expanded the statutory definition of “dwelling.” Justice Massa dissents, joined by Chief Justice Rush.
 

The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline Thursday:
Antonio Garcia v. State of Indiana
49S05-1505-CR-335
Criminal. Affirms denial of Garcia’s motion to suppress the admission of a pill container found during a quick pat-down search following a lawful arrest. Opening the pill container, which had one narcotic pill for which Garcia did not have a valid prescription, during the course of the pat-down search incident to his arrest for driving without a valid driver’s license was a reasonable search under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.

Indiana Supreme Court
Kastin E. Slaybaugh v. State of Indiana
79S02-1601-CR-28
Criminal. Grants transfer to expressly adopt and incorporate by reference the Court of Appeals opinion in which it affirmed the denial of Slaybaugh’s motion for a mistrial. He alleged juror misconduct because a juror who had denied knowing the victim or her family was a “Facebook” friend with a relative of the victim. The juror testified she was a Realtor and had many “Facebook” friends for networking purposes and did not know the victim or her family, which the trial court accepted she was being truthful.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Indiana Professional Licensing Agency and Indiana State Board of Dentistry v. Irfan A. Atcha, D.D.S.
49A02-1504-MI-197
Miscellaneous. Affirms in part and reverses in part the trial court’s finding that three dental advertising regulations are unconstitutional. The state properly restricted Dr. Atcha’s false and misleading claims implying he had a particular dental specialty and could provide better materials or superior service than other dentists. But the state may not compel a dentist to list on his advertisements every dentist in his practice. Remands for the board to reassess the penalty in light of this decision.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Cary R. Coleman v. State of Indiana
47A01-1506-IF-659
Infraction. Reverses speeding infraction, finding the trial court erred in concluding that the altered speed limit established by Lawrence County Ordinance 5-2-1 was effective in the absence of signage giving motorists notice of the altered speed limit.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Debra R. Sorrells v. Karen Reid-Renner, M.D.
53A01-1506-CT-534
Civil tort. Reverses summary judgment in favor of Dr. Reid-Renner on Sorrell’s medical malpractice complaint. Finds Sorrells met her burden to survive summary judgment on the issue of causation as a doctor’s expert testimony is sufficient to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact.

Indiana Court of Appeals
David R. Neal v. Mark Sevier and the Indiana Department of Correction (mem. dec.)
52A02-1410-SC-735
Small claims. Affirms judgment in favor of Department of Correction.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Ashlee A. Trammel v. Jeffery S. Trammel (mem. dec.)
92A04-1507-DR-933
Domestic relation. Affirms denial of petition for mother to relocate children to North Carolina and award of parenting time to her according to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines. Reverses order that mother pay father $1,500 in attorney fees. Chief Judge Vaidik concurs in part and dissents in part with separate opinion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Michael G. Hays v. Shanna Hays
62A04-1501-DR-33
Domestic relation. Reverses a court order that declared a Wyoming court order on father’s child support arrearage null and void. Vacates a trial court order precluding either party from taking the dependent exemption on their income taxes and remands for proceedings.

Indiana Court of Appeals
John W. Kimbrough, III v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
45A05-1506-PC-687
Post-conviction. Affirms denial of Kimbrough’s petition for post-conviction relief.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of Ordinance #2013-09, as amended, the South and West Area Annexation Ordinance, et al. v. The City of Logansport, Indiana, acting by and through Ted Franklin, et al. (mem. dec.)
09A05-1504-PL-170
Civil plenary. Affirms order that annexation take place. Disagrees with remonstrators’ arguments that: the judgment is clearly erroneous because the ordinance does not adequately describe the annexation territory’s boundaries; the city of Logansport did not present sufficient evidence regarding the requisite contiguity of its boundaries with those of the annexation territory; the city did not present sufficient evidence that the annexation territory is needed and can be used for its development in the reasonably near future; the city’s fiscal plan is inadequate; and the remonstrators established that the annexation will have a significant financial impact on residents or landowners.

The following opinions were posted after IL deadline Wednesday:
Indiana Supreme Court
R.E. v. M.S.
49S05-1601-PO-6
Protective order.Grants R.E.’s transfer for the purpose of substituting her initials for her name in the Indiana Supreme Court opinion. R.E. had asked for the Court of Appeals to redact her full name from its decision and only identify her by her initials. Summarily affirms the COA’s decision in all other respects, which upheld the issuance of a protective order against R.E.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Anthony Fisher v. Charles Nightingale (mem. dec.)
64A04-1502-SC-83
Small claim. Reverses dismissal of Fisher’s complaint for failure to prosecute. By foreclosing any alternative avenue for Fisher, an inmate, to maintain his claim, the small claims court denied his constitutional right to prosecute his claim.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Tracy Williams v. Brandon Brooks, et al.
15-1763
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
Civil. Affirms summary judgment in favor of the law enforcement defendants on Williams’ lawsuit alleging false arrest, excessive force and failure to protect in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The district court correctly determined that it was not bound by the state court’s findings in Williams’ criminal case for resisting law enforcement. In addition, the arresting officer had probable cause to conduct the traffic stop, so he could arrest Williams without violating the Fourth Amendment even if Williams was not resisting law enforcement.
 

Indiana Court of Appeals
Nathan Polson v. State of Indiana
55A01-1504-CR-135
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Level 5 felony carrying a handgun without a license, rejecting Polson’s argument on appeal that the trial court abused its discretion because he claims the gun was seized by police in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Charles S. Whitham v. State of Indiana
39A01-1504-CR-134
Criminal.  Affirms Whitham’s conviction of Class A felony attempted murder but sua sponte reverses his remaining convictions of Class B felony aggravated battery, Class B felony battery, Class C felony battery and Class D felony strangulation because each of these were a lesser-included offense to his conviction for attempted murder. Remands for the trial court to vacate these offenses.

Indiana Court of Appeals
John Barker and Specialty Limos, LLC v. Jason Price
24A02-1506-PL-626
Civil plenary. Reverses in part and affirms in part summary judgment in favor of Price in a contract dispute concerning the sale of a van. The trial court did not err when it concluded Price delivered a valid certificate of title even though the title was not in his name. Reverses summary judgment on the issue of whether a discrepancy in the model year of the van created a material issue. On remand, the court will consider not only the $2,000 deposit agreement but also extrinsic evidence to determine whether the model year of the van was material to their agreement.