Opinions

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Cristofer Tichenor
11-2433
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Sarah Evans Barker
Criminal. Affirms 300-month sentence following guilty plea to armed robbery and discharging a firearm in connection with robbing a bank. Rejects Tichenor’s argument that the career offender sentencing guideline is unconstitutionally vague, finding that the guidelines are not susceptible to vagueness challenges and the U.S. Sentencing Commission did not exceed its authority by promulgating the “crime of violence” definition.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Svetlana Arizanovska v. Wal-Mart Stores, Incorporated
11-3387
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Chief Judge Richard L. Young.
Civil. Affirms District Court’s finding of summary judgment against Arizanovska on her claims of discrimination, retaliation and other state-law claims against her employer, Wal-Mart. Holds that Wal-Mart’s suggestion that Arizanovska take an unpaid leave of absence was outlined in company policy and was not an adverse, retaliatory response to her filing a discrimination claim.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
IP of A West 86th Street 1, LLC, et al., v. Morgan Stanley Worldwide Capital Holdings, LLC
11-2891
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Civil. Affirms District Court’s summary judgment in favor of Morgan Stanley, holding that the company was entitled to structure the sale of a loan as it wished and that the company did not err in allowing a purchaser to use escrow funds to finance the sale.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Kenneth Harper v. C.R. England, Incorporated
11-2975
U. S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division, Magistrate Judge Paul R. Cherry.
Civil. Affirms District Court’s determination that Harper failed to set forth a prima facie case, under either the direct or indirect method of proof, to support his claim that C.R. England had retaliated against him for reporting what he believed to be unlawful racial discrimination. Holds that his record shows excessive absences were the cause for his termination.

Indiana Court of Appeals
A.R.M. v. State of Indiana
71A05-1111-JV-613
Juvenile. Affirms juvenile court’s adjudication of A.R.M. as a delinquent child for committing child molesting, as a Class C felony when committed by an adult, and battery, as a Class B misdemeanor when committed by an adult. Holds that the court did not err in admitting the child victim’s videotaped testimony.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Keith D. Jackson v. State of Indiana
20A03-1105-CR-222
Criminal. Reverses sentence for possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and remands for resentencing, holding the trial court erred by imposing a suspended sentence of four years contrary to the accepted plea agreement.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Kevin C. O'Connell v. State of Indiana
18A02-1109-CR-889
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s decision to refuse O’Connell’s tendered jury instructions that the word “voluntary” be included with each of his charges. Holds that other instructions covered the substance of the tendered instructions.

Indiana Court of Appeals
R. Bruce Wallace v. Alliance Environmental, Inc. and Ruth Brown (NFP)
49A04-1111-CC-665
Civil collection. Affirms trial court’s recalculation of damages to Brown for Wallace’s breach of fiduciary duty.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Michael Sheneman
11-3161
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, Judge Jon E. DeGuilio.
Criminal. Affirms convictions and sentence for four counts of wire fraud in a two-year mortgage fraud scheme. Holds that Sheneman’s sentence enhancements were justified, due to the sophisticated means used to execute the fraud.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Aaron M. Davis, Bobby Suggs, et al.
11-1313, 11-1323, et al.
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division, Judge James T. Moody.
Criminal. In consolidated appeal, affirms denial of the six defendants’ motion to reduce their sentences pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 3582(c)(2) based on the retroactive crack cocaine amendments to the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The District Court did not have the power to adjudicate Suggs’ motion and lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. There is sufficient evidence for the District Court to conclude the other defendants were responsible for at least 4.5 kilograms of crack cocaine, which would prevent their sentences from being reduced.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Clifton Ervin v. State of Indiana
29A05-1109-CR-454
Criminal. Affirms grant of a portion of Ervin’s motion to suppress. The trial court properly determined that the evidence seized by the uniformed on-duty police officers should not be suppressed pursuant to the exclusionary rule. Remands for trial.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Jason Tye Myers v. Charles R. Deets III, Deets & Kennedy, and Great American Insurance Group
79A02-1108-CT-771
Civil tort. Affirms summary judgment for Edward Kennedy and the law firm on Myers’ claim for fraud against them and Deets. Myers couldn’t show that either Kennedy or the law firm was liable for Deets’ alleged fraudulent conduct. Reverses grant of Great American Insurance Group’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and remands for further proceedings. Judge Riley concurs in part and dissents in part.

Indiana Court of Appeals
E. Paul Haste v. State of Indiana
03A01-1108-CR-369
Criminal. Dismisses Haste’s appeal of his conviction of and sentence for Class B felony dealing in methamphetamine because the order from which he appeals isn’t a final judgment.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Finance Center Federal Credit Union v. Ronnie D. Brand, Debora J. Brand and GMAC Mortgage, LLC
49A02-1111-MF-1089
Mortgage foreclosure. Affirms partial summary judgment in favor of GMAC regarding the priority of the GMAC Mortgage and Finance Center Federal Credit Union mortgages. Equity should not allow the Finance Center to gain an unexpectedly elevated priority because of any negligence of GMAC that did not harm Finance Center.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Gabriel J. Sharkey v. State of Indiana
84A04-1110-CR-550
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class D felony intimidation. Sharkey’s 18-month suspended sentence is appropriate in light of the nature of the crime and his character.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of V.H.; J.H. v. Indiana Dept. of Child Services
49A02-1110-JC-947
Juvenile. Reverses juvenile court’s grant of CHINS petition and vacates the court’s participation order, holding that the CHINS adjudication and participation decree were erroneous.

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Kristi J. Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust Company
United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
11-1631
Civil. Affirms District court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Salin Bank & Trust Company, holding the bank did not violate Cortezano’s rights by firing her due to her husband’s immigration status. Remands to the District Court to strike from the record the names of Cortezano’s three children, as the District Court had not previously ruled on that motion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In Re the Adoption of S.J., R.W. v. G.C. and J.C.
04A03-1110-AD-449
Adoption. Dismisses appeal from R.W., the biological father of S.J., holding than an order that states his consent is not required for the petition to proceed neither grants nor denies S.J.’s adoption and is not a final, appealable action.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Heriberto Suarez v. State of Indiana
02A05-1106-PC-325
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief. The court did not err in denying his claim that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Robert A. Turner v. State of Indiana (NFP)
62A01-1111-CR-514
Criminal. Affirms imposition of public defender fee.