Opinions

Indiana Court of Appeals
In Re the Adoption of K.W.: M.W. v. S.L. and T.L.
10A04-1309-AD-469
Adoption. Reverses decree granting S.L. and T.L.’s petition to adopt K.W. The trial court violated father’s due process rights when it failed to rule on his request for appointed counsel. Remands for the trial court to determine whether father, who is incarcerated, is indigent, and if so, to appoint counsel to represent him at a new adoption hearing.

Indiana Court of Appeals
219 Kenwood Holdings, LLC v. Properties 2006, LLC
45A03-1401-MI-49
Miscellaneous. Affirms finding that Properties 2006 LLC substantially complied with the requirements of I.C. 6-1.1-25-4.5(e), which requires the purchaser of property sold at a tax sale to notify the owner of record of, among other things, the purchaser’s intent to petition for a tax deed on or after a specified date.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Gabina Hernandez v. State of Indiana (NFP)
20A03-1403-CR-78
Criminal. Affirms convictions of Class A misdemeanors conversion and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.<

Indiana Supreme Court
Gary Wayne Oswalt v. State of Indiana
35S02-1401-CR-10
Criminal. Oswalt preserved appellate review of three for-cause challenges of prospective jurors, but because the trial court was within its discretion to deny all of them, affirms his convictions. Holds as a matter of first impression that parties satisfy the exhaustion rule the moment they use their final peremptory challenge, regardless of whom they strike. Also holds that if parties fully comply with the exhaustion rule and demonstrate they were unable to remove any prospective juror for lack of peremptories, appellate courts may review denial of any motion to strike for cause, regardless of whether a challenged juror actually served on the jury.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Gary A. Gallien v. State of Indiana
22A01-1402-PC-50
Post-conviction. Reverses denial of post-conviction relief due to defense attorney’s failure to raise the issue of maximum consecutive sentences under I.C. 35-50-1-2. The majority held Gallien was prejudiced by his defender’s failure to raise the issue regarding burglaries that were “closely related in time, place, and circumstance.” Dissenting judge Cale Bradford agreed with the majority’s analysis but would affirm the trial court because he didn’t believe Gallien was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to raise the issue.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Kenneth Schmitt
13-2894
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Evansville Division, Chief Judge Richard Young.
Criminal. Affirms conviction for possessing a firearm while being a felon and sentence of 110 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Finds police officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment’s restrictions on warrantless searches because the officers were doing a protective sweep to secure the premises when they unlocked the basement door and searched the basement where the AK-15 semi-automatic assault rifle was found. Rules although the District Court erred in admitting evidence of Schmitt’s conviction for possession of methamphetamine, the error was harmless. And concludes District Court did not err in applying a four-level enhancement to Schmitt’s base offense level.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Dominic Johnson v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1403-CR-125
Criminal. Affirms convictions for auto theft, a Class C felony, and resisting law enforcement, a Class A felony.

Indiana Supreme Court
Indiana State Ethics Commission, Office of Inspector General, and David Thomas, in his Official Capacity as Inspector General v. Patricia Sanchez
49S02-1402-PL-80
Civil plenary. Affirms State Ethics Commission’s decision that Sanchez’s conduct – keeping several items that were state property after she was fired from the Department of Workforce Development – ran afoul of an administrative rule and that she should be barred from future state executive branch employment. Double jeopardy does not bar the proceeding before the commission, the criminal court’s probable cause determination is not binding upon the commission, and there is substantial independent evidence to support the commission’s decision.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Randy M. Swisher v. Porter County Sheriff’s Dept., et al.
13-3602
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, Magistrate Judge Christopher A. Nuechterlein.
Civil. Reverses judgment in favor of the defendants on Swisher’s 42 U.S.C. 1983 complaint that he was denied medical care during his nine-month stint in jail. The magistrate judge, while fully crediting the plaintiff’s testimony at an evidentiary hearing, erred in dismissing Swisher’s suit for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Brandon Earthman v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A04-1404-CR-147
Criminal. Affirms 12-year sentence for Class B felony robbery.

There are no opinions Monday because the courts are closed in observance of Columbus Day.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Susan A. Snyder v. Town of Yorktown, Delaware County Surveyor, Delaware County Drainage Board, Randall Miller & Associates, Inc., and Watson Excavating, Inc.
18A02-1405-CT-332
Civil tort. Reverses grant of the defendants’ motion to dismiss Snyder’s complaint regarding inverse condemnation because her complaint sufficiently states a claim for it. Affirms dismissal as it relates to her claim for trespass because the allegations in her complaint fail to establish any circumstances under which she would be entitled to relief for trespass. Remands for further proceedings.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Stacey D. Cox v. State of Indiana
29A05-1312-CR-637
Criminal. Affirms convictions of Class D felony involuntary manslaughter and Class B misdemeanor operating a child care home without a license. The state presented sufficient evidence that Cox operated a child care home under I.C. 12-17.2-5-28.6.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Rodney A. Richard v. State of Indiana
46A05-1312-CR-628
Criminal. Affirms Class A felony conviction of dealing in cocaine within 1,000 feet of a public park, but reverses Class A felony conviction of dealing in cocaine within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex. The state did not offer sufficient evidence to prove he committed dealing within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex. Remands for the trial court to enter a conviction as a Class B felony and resentence him on that count.

Indiana Supreme Court
Evansville Courier & Press and Rita Ward v. Vanderburgh County Health Department
82S04-1401-PL-49
Civil plenary. Reverses determination by trial court and finds death certificates which include the cause of death are public records. Holds a plain reading of the state statute denies public viewing of death information at the Indiana State Department of Health but gives private citizens access to death records at the local county health department. Remands for summary judgment in plaintiffs’ favor and to determine award of attorney fees.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: A.H., Minor Child, and Ab.H., Mother v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (NFP)
49A02-1402-JT-103
Juvenile. Affirms termination of parental rights.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Eve Carson v. Stacy Palombo
49A02-1312-PL-1052
Civil plenary. Affirms trial court grant of summary judgment in favor of Palombo on Carson’s claims of defamation per se, defamation per quod and invasion of privacy by false light based upon Palombo’s comments regarding a YouTube video Carson posted criticizing the investigation of her sister-in-law’s decades-old murder. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Carson’s motion to amend her complaint to include facts she knew but omitted at the time her original complaint was filed to defeat a grant of summary judgment in Palombo’s favor. There is no genuine issue of material fact that Carson’s claimed damages were incurred as a consequence of alleged defamatory statements, and in the light of other videos Carson posted on YouTube, she was cast in essentially the same light as Palombo’s comment.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Robert Campbell v. State of Indiana
89A04-1312-CR-634
Criminal. Affirms on interlocutory appeal the order granting the state’s motion to withdraw from guilty plea. By refusing to testify at his co-defendant’s trial, Campbell failed to tender the consideration specifically contemplated in the plea agreement. Thus, it would deprive the state of its end of the bargain to sentence Campbell in accordance with a contract that he did not fully satisfy.

Indiana Supreme Court
Robert Corbin v. State of Indiana
75S03-1401-CR-13
Criminal. Affirms trial court denial of a motion to dismiss a charge of attempted child seduction and remands for further proceedings. Whether Corbin’s Facebook communications propositioning a 16-year-old student for sex constituted the required substantial step toward the crime is a question not ripe for dismissal on interlocutory appeal. Justices found the charges match the statutory elements sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss at this time.

Indiana Supreme Court
Gersh Zavodnik v. Irene Harper
49A04-1307-PL-316
Civil plenary. Denies transfer to Zavodink’s appeal of the dismissal of his appeal for failure to file a timely brief and appendix. Offers guidance to courts on how to deal with prolific, abusive litigants.