Supreme Court of Indiana Decisions 2020
Date: December 22, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-XP-00506
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court denying Defendant's petition for expungement, holding that because the trial court may have denied the petition on the erroneous belief that Ind. Code…
Date: December 22, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-XP-506
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court denying Appellant's petition for expungement, holding that because the trial court may have denied the petition on the erroneous belief that Ind. Code…
Date: December 18, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JP-00554
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the determination of the trial court finding Mother in contempt of court and ordering that Father have sole legal and physical custody of the parties' infant child, holding that the court…
Date: December 18, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JP-554
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this custody matter for further proceedings, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by conflating Mother's contempt of court with the best interest of the child. Father filed a…
Date: December 18, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-PL-706
Date: December 15, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-PL-00304
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court finding a statute stopping the City of Bloomington's proposed annexation of several areas of land and prohibiting the City from attempting to annex the areas for…
Date: December 15, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-PL-304
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court in this declaratory judgment action against Governor Holcomb, holding that the statute passed by the legislature in 2017 stopping the City of Bloomington's…
Date: December 9, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-00376
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of the murder and attempted murder of his family members, holding that one of the jurors committed gross misconduct and that, under the circumstances, Defendant did not…
Date: December 9, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-376
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder and attempted murder of his family members, holding that one of the jurors committed gross misconduct but that it was not likely that Defendant was harmed by…
Date: December 1, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-00655
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of dealing in a look-a-like substance, a Level 5 felony under Ind. Code 35-348-4-4.6, holding that the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to…
Date: December 1, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-655
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of "dealing in a look-a-like substance," a level five felony under Ind. Code 35-48-4-4.6, holding that trial court did not err in…
Date: November 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-PC-00548
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reduced Defendant's sentence imposed in connection with his conviction for two counts of murder, Class B felony armed robbery, and a Class D felony conspiracy to commit criminal gang activity, holding…
Date: November 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-PC-548
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reduced Defendant's aggregate sentence to 100 years, holding that Defendant's appellate counsel was ineffective on appeal by failing to bring an Appellate Rule 7(B) challenge to the appropriateness of…
Date: November 17, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-PC-00634
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court revised the maximum 138-year sentence imposed on Defendant for crimes he committed as a juvenile, holding that the sentence was inappropriate. In 1991, seventeen-year-old Defendant and two others…
Date: November 17, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-PC-634
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's maximum 138-year sentence imposed for crimes Defendant committed as a juvenile and revised the sentence to a total sentence of eighty-eight years, holding that the 138-year sentence…
Date: November 16, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JV-00263
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated K.C.G.'s delinquency adjudication and the modification of his probation based on that adjudication, holding that the juvenile court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The delinquency at issue…
Date: November 16, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JV-263
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the juvenile court's adjudication of K.C.G. as a delinquent child for dangerously possessing a firearm, as well as its modification of K.C.G.'s probation based on that ruling, holding that the…
Date: October 27, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-MI-00062
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Indiana Land Trust's motion to set aside a tax deed, holding that the LaPorte County Auditor gave adequate notice reasonably calculated to inform Indiana…
Date: October 27, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-MI-62
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the trial court denying Indiana Land Trust's motion to set aside a tax deed, holding that the LaPorte County Auditor gave adequate notice reasonably calculated to inform Indiana…
Date: October 21, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-00064
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss the State's habitual-offender allegation and remanded with instructions to vacate Defendant's habitual-offender…
Date: October 21, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-64
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss his habitual offender enhancement, holding that Defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated by an…
Date: October 21, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-MI-00609
Date: October 21, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-MI-609
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated a portion of the court of appeals opinion affirming the judgment of the trial court denying Appellant's petition for judicial review of the summary judgment granted by the State Employees'…
Date: October 15, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JT-00063
Justia Opinion Summary: In this termination of parental rights case, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the trial court to admit drug reports, holding that the trial court properly found that the reports did not fit the records of a…
Date: October 15, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JT-63
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court terminating Parents' parental rights to their four children, holding that the trial court did not err in admitting drug test reports on the grounds that the…
Date: October 8, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-00023
Justia Opinion Summary: In this insurance dispute arising from a fatal car crash, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the trial court rejecting the argument of the decedent's estate that it was entitled to $25,000 in underinsured-motorist…
Date: October 8, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-23
Justia Opinion Summary: In this insurance dispute stemming from a fatal car collision, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of Insurer, holding that the decedent's estate was entitled to…
Date: October 2, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-PL-573
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court granting Defendants relief from a default judgment, holding that the trial court's assessments of the parties' credibility and demeanor were sufficient to…
Date: September 8, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-548
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court awarding Plaintiff $40,000 in this personal injury action, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in giving a failure to mitigate…
Date: September 8, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JV-443
Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals, the Supreme Court held that under the clear and unambiguous language of several relevant statutes, a juvenile court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to waive two individuals into…
Date: August 25, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-98
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Appellant's motion requesting reinstatement of his lawsuit against Franklin Township Community School Corporation, holding that the court did not abuse…
Date: August 18, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-CR-340
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court expressly overruled the constitutional tests set forth in Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999), in resolving claims of substantive double jeopardy and adopted an analytical framework that…
Date: August 18, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-CR-527
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for two counts of attempted murder, holding that Defendant's actions, despite their proximity in space and time, amounted to two distinct, chargeable…
Date: August 5, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-31
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court denying Defendant's motion for discharge under Indiana Criminal Rule 4(C), holding that, under the circumstances of this case, Defendant was entitled to…
Date: August 4, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-499
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of four felony counts and dismissing a firearm enhancement sua sponte, holding that the State failed to meet its burden to show that the…
Date: July 9, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-109
Justia Opinion Summary: In this negligence action, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court in favor of Defendant, holding that a juror should have been struck for cause based on bias and that there was prejudice because…
Date: July 6, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-451
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court exercised its constitutional authority to revise Defendant's sentence, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when sentencing Defendant but that, in Defendant's circumstances, her…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-281
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentence for voluntary manslaughter, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the sentence and that the sentence was not inappropriate given the nature…
Date: June 29, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-435
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court suppressing blood test results obtained the morning of a vehicle collision, holding that the blood-draw search warrant application satisfied the filing…
Date: June 26, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-22
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for attempted murder and carrying a handgun without a license, holding that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on self-defense, and the instructional error was…
Date: June 24, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-XP-673
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court denying Appellant's petition to expunge a minor felony conviction that had been converted to a misdemeanor, holding that the amended statute, which took effect…
Date: June 23, 2020
Docket Number: 18S-CR-595
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the trial court holding Defendant in contempt when Defendant refused to unlock her iPhone for a detective, holding that forcing Defendant to unlock her iPhone would violate her…
Date: June 23, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-418
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court overruling Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained during the search of his vehicle, holding that law enforcement officers do not violate either the…
Date: June 12, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-354
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this case to the court of appeals to consider the viability of each of Plaintiffs' claims presented in the pleadings, holding that the court of appeals improperly failed to address the…
Date: May 29, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-PL-645
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court awarding attorney's fees to Defendants in this dispute over the proposed construction of seven billboards, holding that the trial court's decision to award…
Date: May 22, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-61
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court denying Defendant's request to file a belated notice of appeal of his twelve-year sentence, holding that the general waiver of Defendant's "right to appeal" was…
Date: May 19, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-315
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court revised Defendant's sentence for three counts of level 3 felony rape but otherwise affirmed the court of appeals' decision affirming Defendant's convictions and sentence, holding that exceeding the…
Date: May 18, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CR-313
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) conviction to find him not guilty of reason of insanity (NGRI), holding that the State presented insufficient demeanor evidence with which to rebut…
Date: May 11, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-DI-156
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court found that Respondent, the Attorney General of Indiana, committed acts of misdemeanor battery, conduct that violated Indiana Professional Conduct Rules 8.4(b) and 8.4(d), and that Respondent should be…
Date: May 11, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-PL-302
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the trial court's grant of summary judgment for Defendants, holding that the trial court erred by entering summary judgment for defendant health-insurance plans, which were governed by the…
Date: May 5, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JC-296
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the juvenile court finding that R.L. was a child in need of services (CHINS), holding that the Department of Child Services (DCS) should have been barred from filing a…
Date: April 1, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-JT-235
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals that a parent is not entitled to dismissal of a termination of parental rights petition due to the juvenile court's failure to complete a hearing within the…
Date: March 31, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-233
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's grant of summary judgment for Defendant and dismissing Plaintiff's wrongful termination claim, holding that the record did not…
Date: March 30, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-PL-432
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the trial court denying a county bookkeeper's motion to dismiss the claims brought against it by the Indiana Attorney General for misappropriation…
Date: March 23, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-MI-674
Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over the ownership of a criminal justice center the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court ordering that the title of the center be given to Floyd County, holding that the turn-over…
Date: March 11, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-PL-102
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part the judgment of the trial court concluding that Plaintiff, who purchased a gravesite and later discovered that the cemetery resold the gravesite and allowed someone else to be buried…
Date: March 3, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-CT-549
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court awarding summary judgment in favor of Indiana State Trooper Martin Benner and dismissing Plaintiff's claim against Benner in his personal capacity after the two…
Date: March 3, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-CT-88
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court denying Cavanaugh's Sports Bar & Eatery's motion for summary judgment as to Eric Porterfield's complaint alleging…
Date: March 2, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-CQ-590
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered in the negative a question certified from the federal district court and held that Ind. Code 34-20-3-1(b) is a statute of repose that cannot be extended by a manufacturer's post-delivery…
Date: February 20, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-CR-528
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized from his home and his father's barn, holding that the search warrants obtained in this case were invalid…
Date: February 20, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-JC-505
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the trial court denying Mother's motion to dismiss the petition filed by the Department of Child Services (DCS) alleging M.S. was a child in need of services (CHINS), holding…
Date: February 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-CC-531
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the trial court dismissing a lender's complaint seeking to recover on an accelerated promissory note, holding that, under either of two statutes of limitations, the lender can…
Date: February 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-MF-530
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court foreclosing a mortgage but finding that Lender was entitled to recover only payments and interest that accrued after a certain date due to Indiana's six-year…
Date: January 31, 2020
Docket Number: 19S-PO-118
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court entering a second two-year protective order against Respondent, holding that there was insufficient evidence showing that Respondent presented a present,…
Date: January 10, 2020
Docket Number: 20S-AD-5
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the trial court's finding that Father's consent to the adoption of his child was irrevocably implied in this contested adoption proceeding, holding that a parent's implied consent to the…
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