Opinions

Indiana Supreme Court
In the Matter of Mandate of Funds for the Lake Superior Court; Lake County Council and Lake County Auditor v. The Hon. John R. Pera, et al.,
18S-CB-442
Court business. Affirms Special Judge W. Tobin McClamroch’s order that $176,467.17 be awarded to 14 Lake Superior judges to pay for attorney fees and expenses incurred against the Lake County Council and the Lake County Auditor. Finds substantial evidence supports the monetary award to the judges and that the special judge did not abuse his discretion.

The following 7th Circuit Court opinions were posted after IL deadline Tuesday.
Anthony Gant v. Daniel Hartman
18-1287
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division. Chief Judge Theresa L. Springmann.
Civil. Dismisses Daniel Hartman’s appeal of the denial of his motion for summary judgment. Finds the appellate court lacks jurisdiction because Hartman’s appellate argument relies on disputed facts and he has not presented sufficient evidence to “utterly discredit” the district court’s findings.

Indiana Court of Appeals 
Mark Adrian Hughes v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-CR-1007
Criminal. Reverses Mark Hughes’ convictions of two counts of Level 5 felony burglary and two counts of Level 6 felony theft, and the finding that he is a habitual offender. Finds nothing “so strikingly similar or unique” about the circumstances of the burglary as to constitute a signature crime. Also finds Hughes’ prior burglary convictions were not admissible to prove identity or plan and served only to establish a propensity to commit burglary. Finally, finds the admission of evidence relating to Hughes’ prior burglary convictions affected his substantial rights. Remands for a new trial. 

The following Indiana Tax Court opinion was posted after IL deadline Friday:
Tell City Boatworks, Inc. v. Indiana Department of State Revenue
18T-TA-4
Tax. Denies in part the Indiana Department of State Revenue’s motion to exclude tax service provider alliantgroup LP’s report,  and/or limit Stacy Little’s testimony on behalf of Tell City Boatworks, Inc. Finds Little may testify only as an expert witness and not a fact witness, and that the Department may conduct additional discovery regarding Little as an expert witness in its litigation against Tell City.

The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeal opinions were posted after IL deadline Thursday.
USA v. Ronnie Cosby
18-2053
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Judge Philip Simon.
Criminal. Affirms the Northern District Court’s denial of Ronnie Cosby’s motion for a continuance, motion to suppress, motion for a judgment of acquittal for his conviction of transporting a minor with the intent that she engage in prostitution, and his motion for a mistrial based on a sex trafficking expert’s false testimony. Finds the expert did not testify in dual-capacity as an expert and a fact witness.

The following Indiana Tax Court Opinion was posted after IL deadline Wednesday:
Wigwam Holdings LLC v. Madison County Assessor
18T-TA-15
Tax. Affirms the Indiana Board of Tax Review’s final determination that upheld the assessment of Wigwam Holdings LLC’s real property for the 2015 tax year. Finds Wigwam has not demonstrated that the board’s final determination is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, unsupported by substantial evidence or in excess of its statutory authority.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Christopher C. Ferran v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-CR-2018
Criminal. Affirms Christopher Ferran’s conviction of Level 5 felony possession of methamphetamine and Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia. Finds the Lawrence Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting a detective’s testimony concerning the identification of pipe residue as meth.

Indiana Court of Appeals 
Kirk S Freeman v. Tricia L Thompson 
18A-SC-2718
Small claims. Affirms the Tippecanoe Superior Court’s dismissal of Lafayette attorney Kirk S. Freeman’s defamation complaint against Tippecanoe Superior Court Magistrate Tricia L. Thompson for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Finds Thompson was acting within her judicial capacity when she reported Tippecanoe County courthouse law enforcement that Freeman possessed a firearm inside the courthouse in violation of state law and local ordinances and is, thus, immune from Freeman’s allegation that she defamed him in making the report.

Indiana Court of Appeals 
Mark E. Thevenot v. State of Indiana
18A-CR-546
Criminal. Affirms Mark Thevenot’s convictions for Level 5 felony domestic battery and Level 6 felony criminal confinement. Finds the Jefferson Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence or by permitting the prosecutor to quote caselaw during closing argument. 

Indiana Court of Appeals 
Brandon McGaughey v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-CR-1872
Criminal. Affirms Brandon McGaughey’s conviction for Level 5 burglary. Finds he is not entitled to discharge and that there is sufficient evidence to support the conviction. Also finds the Jefferson Superior Court did not err in giving an instruction on accomplice liability.

Indiana Court of Appeals 
Dunham's Athleisure Corp. v. Keith Shepherd
18A-PL-2892
Civil plenary. Reverses the Wabash Superior Court’s denial of Dunham’s Athleisure Corp.’s motion for summary judgment on Keith Shepherd’s complaint alleging Dunham’s negligence in the sale of a firearm to a third party. Finds the trial court erred in its denial of Dunham’s summary judgment motion and that the store is immune from liability regarding Shepherd’s injuries that resulted after his girlfriend shot him with a gun she purchased at Dunham’s.  

Indiana Court of Appeals 
Brian Ramsey v. State of Indiana
18A-CR-1276
Criminal. Affirms Brian Ramsey’s convictions for Level 5 felony criminal confinement and Level 6 felony intimidation. Finds the Floyd Superior Court properly admitted Rhonda Crone’s statements pursuant to the medical records and excited utterance exceptions to the rule against hearsay. Also finds the evidence is sufficient to support Ramsey’s intimidation conviction. 

Indiana Court of Appeals
Kenneth N. McFall v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-CR-2322
Criminal. Affirms Kenneth McFall’s conviction of Level 3 felony dealing in methamphetamine, Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana and Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia following a traffic stop. Finds McFall waived any challenge to the admission of evidence officers obtained during the search of his residence despite his continuing objection. Finds the Perry Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion when it did not allow the driver of the vehicle to testify in front of the jury or when it declined to give McFall’s proffered jury instruction.

Alfonso Artigas v. State of Indiana
18A-CR-2877
Criminal. Reverses Alfonso Artigas’ conviction for Class C misdemeanor operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least .08 but less than .15 g/100mL of blood. Finds the stipulated blood test presented a blood alcohol concentration only in a range from .07 to .084 g/100mL. Also finds there is insufficient evidence to support the conviction. 

Indiana Court of Appeals
Clark Allen Hill v. State of Indiana
18A-CR-2658
Criminal. Affirms Clark Hill’s conviction of Class A misdemeanor operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of 0.15 or more, and his adjudication as a habitual vehicle substance offender. Finds the Hamilton Superior Court did not subject Hill to double jeopardy, nor abuse its discretion in denying his motion to correct erroneous sentence. Finds Hill failed to show that the evidence and controlling precedent lead unerringly to a different result than the one reached by the trial court.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Derek Core v. State of Indiana
91A02-1611-PC-2604
Post conviction. Dismisses Derek Core’s belated appeal of the White Superior Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Finds Core forfeited his right to appeal by failing to timely file his notice of appeal. Also finds Core’s right is forfeited due to Indiana Supreme Court precedent that holds Post Conviction Rule 2(1) does not permit belated consideration of an appeal from a post-conviction or other post-judgment proceeding.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals posted the following opinion after IL deadline Monday.
USA v. Tom Smith, III
18-2905
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Criminal. Affirms the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana’s determination that Tom Smith III is a career offender under § 4B1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Also affirms its application of a corresponding enhancement for his two prior controlled substance convictions. Disagrees with Smith’s interpretation of the statute and denies his request to vacate his sentence for improperly including an enhancement.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Janet L. Himsel, Martin Richard Himsel, Robert J. Lannon, Susan M. Lannon v. Samuel Himsel, Cory M. Himsel, Clinton S. Himsel, 4/9 Livestock, LLC, and Co-Alliance, LLP and State of Indiana
18A-PL-645
Civil Plenary. Affirms Hendricks Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Samuel T. Himsel, Cory M. Himsel, Clinton S. Himsel, 4/9 Livestock LLC, and Co-Alliance LLP. Rules the plaintiffs’ nuisance and repackaged negligence and trespass claims are barred by Indiana Code section 32-30-6-9, commonly known as the Right to Farm Act. Also finds the plaintiffs’ various claims that the RTFA is unconstitutional are unavailing.

The following Indiana Tax Court opinion was posted Thursday after IL deadline.
Tell City Boatworks, Inc. v. Indiana Department of State Revenue
18T-TA-4
Tax. Denies Tell City Boatworks, Inc.’s motion to strike the report and exclude the testimony of John William Sullivan. Finds Tell City is unable to prove Sullivan’s report or testimony is inadmissible due to its “overall lack of relevancy and credibility.”  

Indiana Court of Appeals
Indiana Hotel Equities, LLC v. Indianapolis Airport Authority
18A-PL-769
Civil plenary. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s ruling in favor of the Indianapolis Airport Authority, finding that Indiana Hotel Equities, LLC breached the parties’ lease agreement and that the Authority did not waive its ability to terminate the lease. Finds the trial court did not err by finding that the Authority did not waive its right to declare a forfeiture and terminate the lease.