Supreme Court of Indiana Decisions 2013
Date: December 19, 2013
Docket Number: 20S00-1206-LW-560
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder and of being a habitual offender. The trial court sentenced Defendant to life in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in admitting certain…
Date: December 19, 2013
Docket Number: 55S01-1312-CR-841
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of burglary as a class C felony and theft as a class D felony. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted transfer to address Defendant's argument that the trial…
Date: December 17, 2013
Docket Number: 93S02-1306-EX-407
Justia Opinion Summary: The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) approved a contract for the purchase of substitute natural gas and directed the procedure for resolving future related disputes. The court of appeals reversed the IURC's…
Date: December 12, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1312-CR-804
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of resisting law enforcement and sentenced to ninety days in jail. Defendant appealed, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. In this case,…
Date: December 12, 2013
Docket Number: 49S05-1303-DR-199
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were divorced in 1999 pursuant to a decree that approved the parties' comprehensive settlement agreement under which Mother was granted physical custody of the parties' two children. In 2011, Father…
Date: November 26, 2013
Docket Number: 82S01-1301-CT-19
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother informed the Department of Child Services (DCS) that her son (Son) had been molested by her twelve-year-old nephew (Nephew). During a subsequent investigation, Nephew admitted to inappropriately touching Son and…
Date: November 22, 2013
Docket Number: 41S01-1306-TR-426
Justia Opinion Summary: Ruth Fulp placed her family farm in a revocable trust with trust assets going to her three children upon her death. Fulp decided to sell the farm to her son, Harold, a few years later. The proposed sale was for a low…
Date: November 21, 2013
Docket Number: 30S01-1303-CR-220
Justia Opinion Summary: After police officers received information about a drug dealer, the officers approached a vehicle in which Appellant was a passenger, ordered her outside the car, and handcuffed her. While Appellant was being…
Date: November 15, 2013
Docket Number: 20S03-1303-CR-158
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a truck driver, was arrested after a deliberate action conducted by the state police uncovered nearly ninety pounds of cocaine in Defendant's cargo. Defendant requested a speedy trial, but the trial court was…
Date: November 13, 2013
Docket Number: 09S00-1307-PL-476
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was a resident of the City of Logansport and a ratepayer to the municipal utility that supplied her electricity. Plaintiff filed a petition against the City of Logansport, including the City's mayor and common…
Date: November 12, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1212-CR-669
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of resisting law enforcement, battery of a law enforcement officer resulting in injury, and disorderly conduct. The court of appeals affirmed. Defendant appealed, arguing that…
Date: November 12, 2013
Docket Number: 49S04-1311-CR-741
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder and class B felony possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (SVF). Defendant appealed, claiming (1) the trial court should have given his tendered jury…
Date: November 5, 2013
Docket Number: 71S03-1305-DR-399
Justia Opinion Summary: Upon the divorce of Mother and Father, Father was awarded physical custody of the parties' two children. Five years later, Mother filed a motion to modify actual physical custody of both children. Without an evidentiary…
Date: October 29, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1302-CT-89
Justia Opinion Summary: After purchasing a car from Defendant, a car dealership, Plaintiff discovered that the car had extensive problems. Plaintiff sued Defendant, alleging that advertising the car as a "Sporty Car at a Great Value Price"…
Date: September 26, 2013
Docket Number: 02S03-1301-DR-18
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were married in 1992 and had two children. The parties later divorced. In 2009, Mother and Father agreed to recalculate their support obligation annually using the Child Support Rules and Guidelines.…
Date: September 26, 2013
Docket Number: 03S04-1211-CC-645
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was Ind. Code 6-1.1-24-3(b), which provides that a mortgagee annually request by certified mail a copy of notice that a parcel of real property is eligible for sale under the tax sale statutes. Here…
Date: September 17, 2013
Docket Number: 20S05-1301-CR-10
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was one of three men that police officers encountered in a self-storage facility and ordered to the ground. After questioning Defendant about the contents of the black bag he was carrying, Defendant admitted it…
Date: September 12, 2013
Docket Number: 10S01-1308-PL-529
Date: September 12, 2013
Docket Number: 33S01-1301-PC-7
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrew McWhorter appealed the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance for failing to object to a flawed voluntary manslaughter jury instruction. The Court…
Date: August 28, 2013
Docket Number: 49S04-1207-PC-431
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was charged with felony rape and related charges. Petitioner's case was first tried to a jury in 2008. The jury deadlocked on Petitioner's charges for felony rape and felony confinement, and a retrial was…
Date: August 28, 2013
Docket Number: 49S04-1212-CT-667
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Plaintiff was robbed and murdered inside his room in a motel owned by Defendant. Joseph Pryor confessed to robbing and killing Plaintiff and was sentenced to eighty-five years in prison for these crimes. In…
Date: August 28, 2013
Docket Number: 49S05-1212-CR-668
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to driving while suspended as a habitual traffic violator (HTV). Defendant later filed a petition for post-conviction relief challenging an underlying offense for operating a vehicle while…
Date: August 27, 2013
Docket Number: 49S04-1210-CT-607
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff suffered injuries in a collision with Jolene Wright, who was employed by South Central Community Action Program, Inc. Plaintiff and South Central's liability insurer attempted to settle, but settlement efforts…
Date: August 22, 2013
Docket Number: 45S03-1301-CR-9
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of felony criminal deviate conduct in 1998, was released from prison in 2000, and began registering annually as a sex offender. Indiana later expanded its registration requirements. Defendant…
Date: August 16, 2013
Docket Number: 37S03-1303-AD-159
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother was the biological mother of fraternal twins. After Mother's parental rights to the twins were terminated (TPR judgment), the twins' foster parents (Adoptive Parents) petitioned to adopt them. None of the parties…
Date: August 8, 2013
Docket Number: 59S01-1205-PL-249
Justia Opinion Summary: Mary Manley was involved in a head-on automobile collision with Kimberly Zehr. Manley later learned that Zehr had several medical conditions that, combined with medications she had been prescribed by her physician. Dr.…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 15S05-1302-CT-91
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sent a proposed medical malpractice complaint to the Indiana Department of insurance without including $7 in required statutory filing and processing fees. Plaintiffs subsequently filed their medical…
Date: July 18, 2013
Docket Number: 48S02-1305-GU-398
Justia Opinion Summary: Father murdered Mother in the presence of their two small children. Father's brother and his significant other (Guardians) were granted guardianship over the children. The paternal grandmother (Grandmother) petitioned to…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1205-PL-269
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Stephen and Edward were beaten in Union elections and lost their positions. Deborah, Edward's wife, was a clerical employee and voluntary member of the Union, but the business manager/secretary-treasurer…
Date: July 2, 2013
Docket Number: 53S01-1307-CR-459
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor as class B felonies. The trial court sentenced Defendant to maximum consecutive terms after finding "substantial aggravating…
Date: July 1, 2013
Docket Number: 47S01-1302-JV-126
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a juvenile, admitted to conduct that would constitute felony sexual battery if committed by an adult. The trial court subsequently ordered Appellant to register as a sex offender. Appellant appealed, arguing…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 48S05-1210-PC-583
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with the murder of his mother. He was subsequently found guilty but mentally ill and ultimately sentenced to fifty-five years' incarceration. Defendant filed an amended petition for post-conviction…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 49S00-1207-MF-420
Justia Opinion Summary: This action involved a dispute between a township small claims court and the township trustee and advisory board over changes in the small claims court. The small claims court issued an order for mandate and mandate of…
Date: June 25, 2013
Docket Number: 09S00-1205-CR-361
Justia Opinion Summary: After Defendant was charged with murder, he filed a motion seeking bail. At the same time, Defendant filed a motion seeking a declaration that Ind. Code 35-33-8-2(b), which assigns to a defendant charged with murder the…
Date: June 25, 2013
Docket Number: 36S05-1206-DR-371
Justia Opinion Summary: Upon Father and Mother's divorce, Father and Mother agreed that Mother would assume sole financial responsibility of Child and waive enforcement of Father's child support arrearage in exchange for Father's agreement to…
Date: June 25, 2013
Docket Number: 45S04-1211-CT-634
Justia Opinion Summary: Buyers bought a home from Sellers after Sellers completed Indiana's statutory disclosure forms attesting to the home's condition. Buyers subsequently discovered costly defects in the home. Buyers sued Sellers, alleging…
Date: June 25, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1304-CR-242
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was stopped by a police officer due to his darkly-shaded tinted windows. The police officer smelled marijuana and subsequently searched Defendant's person, where he found cocaine. The State charged Defendant…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 54S01-1207-CT-430
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a malpractice claim against Dr. Anthony Miller and Achilles Podiatry Group seeking damages for the alleged injuries they received after surgery. The trial was delayed due to Plaintiffs' inability to…
Date: June 18, 2013
Docket Number: 49S00-0808-DI-468
Justia Opinion Summary: After certain members of the Indiana House of Representatives Democratic Caucus left the state to prevent the formation of a quorum in order to block a vote on impending legislation, House Republicans passed motions to…
Date: June 5, 2013
Docket Number: 15S01-1306-JT-402
Justia Opinion Summary: The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) petitioned to terminate Mother and Father's parental rights regarding their three children. The trial court granted the petition, concluding that DCS provided clear and…
Date: June 4, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1210-CT-598
Justia Opinion Summary: After a police officer rear-ended Plaintiff's vehicle, Plaintiff submitted a tort claim notice to the City of Indianapolis. Plaintiff and her husband subsequently filed a complaint against the City and the Indianapolis…
Date: May 31, 2013
Docket Number: 68S01-1305-CR-395
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with murder and assisting suicide. Defendant requested to speak to an attorney while in police custody, but the following afternoon, detectives re-read Defendant his Miranda rights, and Defendant…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 40S05-1301-CR-23
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of attempted child molesting, a class A felony. The sentencing range for a class A felony is twenty to fifty years incarceration, and the advisory sentence is thirty years. The trial court imposed…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 45S00-1303-OR-209
Justia Opinion Summary: Relators were magistrates in the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division. Respondents were the Lake Superior Court, Lake Circuit Court, and the courts' judges. Relators complained about a decision made by Respondents to…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 69S01-1301-CR-24
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to two counts of child molesting as class A felonies. The sentencing range for a class A felony is from twenty to fifty years, and the advisory sentence is thirty years. The trial court imposed…
Date: May 14, 2013
Docket Number: 42S00-1210-PL-597
Justia Opinion Summary: Vincennes Indiana Girls, Inc. (VIG) deeded Camp Wildwood to the predecessor of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois, Inc. (GSSI) on the condition that the property be used for scouting purposes for forty-nine years. The deed…
Date: May 14, 2013
Docket Number: 49S00-1201-CT-14
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, a jury awarded John Doe $150,000 in punitive damages as part of a judgment in Doe's lawsuit against a priest for childhood sexual abuse. The priest moved to reduce the punitive damages pursuant to the statutory…
Date: May 2, 2013
Docket Number: 02S03-1205-CR-251
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of child molestation. The only substantive evidence implicating him in those crimes was a forensic nurse examiner that testified about statements made by the…
Date: April 11, 2013
Docket Number: 90S04-1208-PL-450
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff owned and operated certain water and sewer facilities in the City of Fort Wayne. The facilities were divided into two separate geographic areas - the North System and the Aboite System. In 2002 the City passed…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: 10S00-1004-PD-185
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted was the murders of Donna Claspell and her two daughters. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death. The Supreme Court affirmed. Defendant subsequently filed a petition for…
Date: March 27, 2013
Docket Number: 73S01-1209-CR-563
Justia Opinion Summary: After Mother gave birth to an infant alone at home, Boyfriend took Mother and the infant to the hospital. Medical staff noticed puncture wounds on the infant's back and notified the authorities. An ensuing investigation…
Date: March 26, 2013
Docket Number: 49S00-1203-PL-172
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, several Indiana taxpayers, brought an action challenging Indiana's statutory program for providing vouchers to eligible parents for their use in sending their children to private schools. Plaintiffs contended…
Date: March 21, 2013
Docket Number: 20S04-1201-CR-5
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (SVF) and sought to have Defendant's sentence enhanced under the general habitual offender statute. Defendant pled guilty to…
Date: March 21, 2013
Docket Number: 91S05-1206-CR-306
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with theft and was alleged to be a habitual offender. Defendant and the State entered into a plea agreement, which provided that Defendant would plead guilty as charged and admit his status as a…
Date: March 13, 2013
Docket Number: 02S04-1208-PL-497
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff successfully applied for employment at Labor Works, received job assignments an paychecks, and was never fired or laid off. Plaintiff later filed a class action lawsuit against Labor Works under the Indiana…
Date: March 12, 2013
Docket Number: 18S05-1206-PC-304
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to felony armed robbery and felony criminal confinement. The trial court determined that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances and imposed the maximum sentence of…
Date: March 7, 2013
Docket Number: 41S01-1209-MI-556
Justia Opinion Summary: Child had contact with his paternal grandparents even after Mother married Stepfather. Later, Stepfather initiated a step-parent adoption of Child, and Mother curtailed the grandparent visits. Child's biological father…
Date: March 6, 2013
Docket Number: 33S01-1206-CT-312
Justia Opinion Summary: Motel was insured under a policy issued by Insurer. The policy provided coverage for, as well as a duty to defend against, claims for bodily injury and personal and advertising injury liability. The policy expressly…
Date: March 5, 2013
Docket Number: 12S02-1203-CT-170
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Katherine and Michael, were living together in a home that was destroyed by a fire in 1998. Seeking to rebuild their home, Michael and Katherine completed an application for property insurance with American…
Date: March 5, 2013
Docket Number: 48S02-1206-CR-350
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to receiving stolen property, a felony. While serving her probation term, Defendant was arrested and charged with theft. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court determined that Defendant had…
Date: February 22, 2013
Docket Number: 20S03-1206-CR-308
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant with three counts of felony nonsupport of a defendant child. By the time the case went to trial, all three children were adults and emancipated. The trial court found Defendant guilty as…
Date: February 22, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1301-JV-20
Justia Opinion Summary: A school liaison officer intervened in a hallway scuffle between K.W. and another student. K.W. turned away from the officer's effort to handcuff him. K.W. was subsequently adjudicated delinquent for resisting law…
Date: February 20, 2013
Docket Number: 53S01-1209-CR-526
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal mischief as a Class B misdemeanor for vandalizing another man's truck. The trial court sentenced Defendant to thirty days executed, 150 days suspended, and 360 days…
Date: February 19, 2013
Docket Number: 20S03-1208-DR-499
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a North Carolina resident, was charged in Indiana with two counts of non-support of a dependent. After the trial date was set, Defendant's public defender filed a motion to withdraw. The trial court granted…
Date: February 12, 2013
Docket Number: 34S02-1210-DR-582
Justia Opinion Summary: When Husband and Wife's marriage was dissolved in 2005, the trial court approved the settlement agreement reached by the parties following mediation. In 2011, Husband sought to modify the agreement. At the evidentiary…
Date: January 24, 2013
Docket Number: 49S02-1301-CR-57
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was found guilty of burglary, adjudicated an habitual offender, and sentenced to twenty-two years imprisonment. The trial court also ordered Defendant to pay restitution to the victim in…
Date: January 15, 2013
Docket Number: 49S04-1203-CT-135
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff's wife died after various physicians failed to diagnose and treat her obstructed bowel. Plaintiff, acting individually and as a personal representative of his wife's estate, filed a medical malpractice…
Date: January 10, 2013
Docket Number: 45S03-1206-CR-307
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Defendant pled guilty to child solicitation, a class D felony. Upon discharge from probation in 1999, Defendant was required to register as a sex offender for ten years pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration…
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