Study committees to look at workers’ comp, criminal history
This week at the Statehouse, interim committees will discuss issues including criminal history, criminal sentences and workers’ compensation.
Sentence
Articles
Appellate court upholds life sentence
Duane Turner will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering a Ball State student in 1994. The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected his claims that his sentence was unconstitutional and that his attorney was ineffective.
Federal court to decide whether man asked attorney to appeal
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a federal judge in the Southern District of Indiana to consider whether a defendant asked his attorney to appeal his designation of a career offender at sentencing, following a guilty plea.
Court of Appeals rejects typo argument in reversing a sentence for child molestation
In a split ruling, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a South Bend man’s conviction of child molestation but rejected the state’s claim that wording on a supplemental sentencing order was a scrivener’s error.
Neglect conviction, sentence in child’s death affirmed
The conviction and sentence of a Delaware County woman whose stepdaughter died due to neglect was not inappropriate, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Court of Appeals finds 2006 statute does apply to 2001 violation
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a defendant’s ex post facto argument and affirmed a trial court’s decision to convict him of committing a sex offender residency offense.
Inmate loses challenge to law ending certain educational funding
The 2011 amendment that stopped state funding of postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities for convicted felons who are confined in a penal facility is not an ex post facto law nor does it violate an inmate’s constitutional rights, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
7th Circuit rules trial attorneys not ineffective
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to find a defendant's trial attorneys' representation objectively deficient or ineffective pertaining to how they handled a man’s sentencing hearing.
Man had no constitutional right to counsel
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a man’s claims in support of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, finding his motion to correct sentence wasn’t a motion pursuant to Indiana Code, but was a collateral attack on his sentence.
Trial court has no authority to alter man’s conviction
An Elkhart Superior judge was correct in determining that he couldn’t reduce a man’s Class D felony conviction to a Class A misdemeanor a year after the original judgment was made, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
COA finds evidence supporting restitution order too flimsy
A victim of a burglary will have to turn to the civil process to get restitution after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed and remanded with instructions a trial court’s order that provided the victim with $711.95 in compensation.
Sentence affirmed for child molestation conviction
An Adams Circuit judge’s sentence of 90 years in prison for a man convicted of molesting two girls ages 7 and 9 and for being a habitual offender was not inappropriate, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Divided court affirms life without parole for 17-year-old who killed younger brother
A 3-2 decision of the Indiana Supreme Court upheld a sentence of life without parole for a 17-year-old who killed his 10-year-old brother while babysitting and later dumped his body near a school in Rising Sun.
Justices reduce caregiver’s sentence in child’s killing
The Indiana Supreme Court reduced the sentence of a woman who, along with her boyfriend, was convicted in the events that led to the murder of the woman’s 2-year-old cousin while in her care.
Supreme Court knocks down habitual-offender enhancement
The Indiana Supreme Court found a habitual-offender enhancement tacked onto the 20-year sentence of a serious violent felon was an “impermissible double enhancement.”
Summary judgment upheld in contamination case
The former owners of a Beech Grove shopping plaza that once contained a laundry and dry cleaning business that contaminated soil and groundwater cannot be held liable due to the statute of limitations, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
COA reverses sentencing on grounds it exceeded statutory maximum
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a defendant that her sentence for a Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana exceeded the statutory maximum and remanded the case to the trial court for resentencing.
COA upholds trial court’s actions and sentence during drug trial
A defendant who contended the trial court abused its discretion and imposed an inappropriately harsh sentence had his drug conviction upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
245-year sentence affirmed in Hovey Street slayings
The gunman who pleaded guilty to four murders in the 3200 block of Hovey Street in Indianapolis was properly given and deserved a 245-year sentence for the crimes, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Justices: Good-time-credit amendment not retroactive
The Indiana Supreme Court interpreted a 2010 amendment on credit time earned during placement in community corrections to only apply to those placed on home detention on or after its July 1, 2010, effective date.