Indiana Supreme Court

The Indiana Supreme Court held that the charging information adequately pleaded both handgun offenses against Jones. Count II sufficiently identified the misdemeanor offense, and Count III sufficiently alleged the felony enhancement based on Jones's prior Texas felony convictions within fifteen years.

The court reversed the trial court’s dismissal of both handgun-carrying charges and remanded for further proceedings. It held that the charging information, read together with the probable-cause affidavit, sufficiently notified Gomez of the Illinois felony conviction underlying both charges and alleged facts…

The court affirmed summary judgment for the bar, holding that whether foreseeability is part of a proprietor's duty is a legal question for the court and must be evaluated generally by considering the broad type of plaintiff and harm, rather than the specific facts of the occurrence.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of Mother’s requests to modify physical custody and hold Father in indirect contempt. It held that the trial court’s custody findings were supported by the evidence, its best-interests determination was not clearly erroneous, and its finding that Father’s…

The Indiana Supreme Court reversed the termination of Father’s parental rights because the evidence did not clearly and convincingly establish that the conditions leading to the child’s removal would not be remedied or that termination served the child’s best interests.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed Charles Stephenson's convictions for the robbery and murder of Leigh Jennings and his sentence of life imprisonment without parole. The court held the evidence sufficient to establish robbery even though part of the crime occurred before and part after the victim's death, and…

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed Moore’s murder and felony-murder convictions and sentences, rejecting his claim that inconsistent testimony triggered the incredible dubiosity rule.

The Indiana Supreme Court held that officers violated Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution by entering Carpenter’s home without a warrant while pursuing an aggressive, injured dog.

The court held that an untimely notice of appeal forfeits the party's appellate right but does not deprive the appellate courts of subject-matter or personal jurisdiction. Applying its procedural-rule authority and considering the fundamental interests involved in the parent-child relationship, the court restored the…

The Indiana Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant's self-serving, minimally detailed affidavit denying that seized currency was drug proceeds was competent designated evidence raising a genuine issue of material fact, precluding summary judgment for the State in a civil forfeiture action.

The court affirmed Knapp’s murder conviction and life-without-parole sentence. It held that the crime-scene photographs were adequately authenticated, that the autopsy expert could rely on them, and that neither the discovery violation nor the erroneous penalty-phase instruction required reversal under the applicable…

The court held that the defendant procedurally defaulted his prosecutorial-misconduct claims by failing to object during closing argument or seek an admonishment and mistrial. Although one “send the message” argument improperly invited conviction for reasons other than the defendant’s guilt, the misconduct did not…

The Indiana Supreme Court held that speech criticizing judicial participants, including hyperbolic accusations harming reputation, is constitutionally protected absent proof of actual malice when it concerns public officials or matters of public concern.

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer and affirmed a trial court's judgment involuntarily terminating a father's parental rights to his two young children, holding that a divided Court of Appeals panel contravened the governing standard of review by reweighing evidence and overemphasizing the father's recent…

The Indiana Supreme Court held that the evidence did not establish that S.D. required the coercive intervention of the court because Mother had resolved the concerns involving her other children and had completed all but the final step of S.D.'s medical-care training.

The court held that the coordinated traffic stops and canine sweep leading to discovery of cocaine were reasonable under Article 1, section 11 of the Indiana Constitution because the officers had probable cause for the second stop, substantial individualized suspicion, and caused only minimal additional intrusion.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief. It held that, absent a plea-agreement provision restricting sentencing evidence, a trial court may consider the circumstances underlying dismissed charges when selecting aggravating factors, including injury to a victim.

The court held that a probation violation, including the commission of a new criminal offense, must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence under the governing statute, not merely by probable cause.

The Indiana Supreme Court held that any physical pain resulting from a rude, insolent, or angry touching satisfies the statutory definition of bodily injury, without a minimum severity or duration requirement.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the life-without-parole sentence imposed on seventeen-and-a-half-year-old Andrew Conley for murdering his ten-year-old brother, holding that the trial court properly admitted the State's rebuttal expert testimony, properly weighed the sole statutory aggravator (the victim's age)…

The court held that when one parent admits a CHINS petition and another parent denies it, the denying parent is entitled to a contested fact-finding hearing on the CHINS allegations.

The Indiana Supreme Court held that expert testimony stating or implying that a child sexual-abuse complainant was not prone to exaggerate, fantasize, or fabricate constituted impermissible vouching under Evidence Rule 704(b).

The Indiana Supreme Court reinstated Gray’s misdemeanor marijuana-possession conviction, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support constructive possession. Gray’s possessory interest in the apartment established her capability to control the marijuana, while its location in plain view near her and its…

The court affirmed Turner's convictions and sentence, holding that the trial court properly admitted the firearms tool-mark testimony, the challenged other-acts evidence, and testimony explaining an absent witness's unavailability.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the modification awarding the father primary physical custody of M.B. because the trial court expressly found both a substantial change in a statutory custody factor and that modification was in M.B.'s best interests.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Kubsch's petition for post-conviction relief. It held that the undisclosed letter was not material under the applicable disclosure standard and therefore supported neither a new-trial claim nor a suppression-of-exculpatory-evidence claim.

The Indiana Supreme Court reversed the termination of Father’s parental rights because the evidence did not clearly and convincingly establish either that the reasons for placing the child outside Father’s home would not be remedied or that continuing the relationship threatened the child’s well-being.

The court affirmed denial of Kroger's summary judgment motion in a negligence action arising from an assault in the store's parking lot. It held that a landowner's duty to protect business invitees from foreseeable criminal attacks is not limited to attacks by patrons or guests, and that Kroger failed to establish as…

The Indiana Supreme Court held that Brown did not preserve his challenge to the admission of evidence seized from his home because he affirmatively stated that he had no objection when the evidence was offered at trial.

The court held that appellate review of sentence appropriateness under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B) may consider the totality of the penal consequences imposed, including suspended portions of a sentence and other sentencing conditions.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for Papa John's and Tharp, holding that Tharp's reports that a customer had pulled a gun were protected by a qualified privilege.

The Indiana Supreme Court reinstated Bailey's convictions for battery and disorderly conduct, holding that the evidence was sufficient for a factfinder to conclude that he knowingly touched an assistant principal in a rude, insolent, or angry manner and engaged in tumultuous conduct likely to result in serious bodily…

The Indiana Supreme Court held that applying Indiana's Sex Offender Registration Act to Richard Wallace, whose offense, conviction, and sentence predated the Act, violated the Indiana Constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause.

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for St. Paul, holding that the insurer's duty to defend did not arise until Dreaded provided the notice required by its policies. Because Dreaded sought only defense costs incurred before St. Paul knew of the environmental claim, prejudice was irrelevant.

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer limited to sentencing and, exercising its Rule 7(B) review-and-revise authority, concluded that Cardwell's aggregate thirty-four-year sentence for two Class B felony neglect convictions—burning his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter with hot water and delaying medical…

The court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief, holding that Lee's burglary and attempted armed robbery convictions did not violate Indiana's actual-evidence double-jeopardy test.

The court held that due process requires a probationer who admits violations, including one placed on “strict compliance,” to have an opportunity to present mitigating information explaining why revocation is unwarranted.

The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Henley's request for standby counsel to deliver closing argument, and appellate counsel was not ineffective for omitting that issue or for failing to challenge an unpresented sentencing mitigator.

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer and affirmed the trial court's disposition of Prewitt's third probation violation, displacing the Court of Appeals' contrary decision. Holding that the disjunctive 'or' in Indiana Code § 35-38-2-3(g) does not confine a sentencing court to a single option, the court ruled that…

The Indiana Supreme Court revised Reid’s fifty-year maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit murder to the thirty-year advisory sentence under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B). Although Reid had a substantial criminal history, the court emphasized that the victims were never actually endangered, both sought leniency, Reid…