On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, 32A04-1003-CR-194 DAVID, Justice. We have granted transfer in this case to address whether a police officer had reasonable suspicion to stop a vehicle based on a concerned citizen's tip of a possibly intoxicated driver. At 1 a.m. on April 23, 2009, a 911 call was made by a motorist who identified himself and provided his phone number. The caller complained that he had been following a driver of a blue Volkswagen who had been...
On Petition to Transfer Pursuant to Appellate Rule 56(A) DAVID, Justice. In this case, the State seeks to enforce a particular provision of the Indiana Autodialer Law against an entity that uses an automated dialing device to deliver prerecorded political messages. The trial court, on cross-motions for preliminary injunction, decided that the entity had a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of its claim that the live-operator requirement of the Autodialer Law violates the free...
DICKSON, Justice. This is an appeal from the denial of unemployment insurance benefits to a claimant after her departure from employment because she was unable to perform skills required for her employment. We affirm the denial of her claim. The relevant facts as found by the Department of Workforce Development ("Department") 3 are not in dispute. Summarized briefly, the claimant-employee, Diane Recker, accepted an offer of employment from a parcel courier company, FedEx Trade Networks ("...
PER CURIAM. This matter comes before the Court as a result of a judicial disciplinary action brought by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications ("Commission") against the Respondent, Jeffrey A. Harkin, Judge of the Hammond City Court. Article 7 Section 4 of the Indiana Constitution and Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 25 give the Indiana Supreme Court original jurisdiction over this matter. Subsequent to the Commission's filing of formal charges, the parties jointly tendered a "...
SULLIVAN, Justice. Article II, 8, of the Indiana Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to disenfranchise "any person convicted of an infamous crime." David Snyder contends that because misdemeanor battery is not an "infamous crime," his constitutional rights were violated when his voter registration was canceled after he was convicted and incarcerated for that crime. We agree that the crime in this case was not an "infamous crime" but also hold that the General Assembly has separate...
DICKSON, Justice. Following the death of their full-term baby daughter in utero during labor, just before childbirth, the plaintiffs Steven Spangler and Heidi Brown brought this action seeking damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress. In the ensuing litigation, the trial court granted summary judgment to St. Vincent Randolph Hospital, to Barbara Bechtel (the nurse-midwife who provided pre-natal care during the mother's pregnancy and managed her labor at the hospital), and to...
SHEPARD, Chief Justice. When a defendant is represented by a lawyer for a particular offense, do the police violate his right to counsel if they approach him about a different offense Under the Sixth Amendment, the answer is no. We hold that under the broader protections of Article 1, Section 13, of the Indiana Constitution, the right to counsel is violated only where the different offense is inextricably intertwined with the charge on which counsel is already representing the defendant....
On Petition for Rehearing SHEPARD, Chief Justice. Appellant David Hopper has been seeking to set aside a 2005 conviction for driving while intoxicated, on grounds that he had not been advised or warned of the risks of dealing with prosecutors without a lawyer. We earlier affirmed the trial court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Attorney General has petitioned for rehearing, arguing that the rule announced in our prior opinion presents an unnecessary and impractical...
On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 82A01-1005-CR-223 SHEPARD, Chief Justice. A trial court found Lisa Gray guilty of possessing marijuana as a class A misdemeanor, but the Court of Appeals set aside the conviction on the grounds of insufficient evidence. We have accepted jurisdiction to reinstate the judgment. Facts and Procedural History On the evening of September 7, 2008, Officers Robert Pylant and Jason Clegg of the Evansville Police Department arrived at...
DAVID, Justice. At a dispositional hearing, the juvenile court imposed on the delinquent child a determinate commitment of two years at the Department of Correction to be followed by an indeterminate commitment. We hold that the determinate and indeterminate commitment statutes in question are unambiguously mutually exclusive, and thus the trial court could impose only one of the commitments on the delinquent child. We reverse the trial court's dispositional order and remand to the trial court...
On Petition To Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 93A02-1003-EX-315. RUCKER, Justice. In this case we conclude that the Worker's Compensation Act is silent on the question of the limitation period applicable to a medical provider's claim seeking payment of outstanding bills for authorized treatment to an employer's employee. We thus hold that the limitation period contained in the general statute of limitation controls. General Background Indiana Spine Group, PC is an...
On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A02-1009-CR-01021 SHEPARD, Chief Justice. A jury found appellant Otha S. Hamilton guilty on one count of molesting a child, as a class A felony. The trial court imposed a sentence of fifty years in prison. We affirm Hamilton's conviction and revise his sentence. Facts and Procedural History Forty-four-year-old Otha S. Hamilton resided in Indianapolis with his wife, who had twelve grandchildren, none of them by a child of...
On Direct Appeal from a Sentence of Life Without Parole. SHEPARD, Chief Justice. Jeffery Cain was convicted of murder and robbery and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He appeals both his conviction and his sentence, claiming a co-defendant's testimony was improperly admitted at the guilt phase of his trial and that the prosecutor made inappropriate arguments during the sentencing phase. We affirm. Facts and Procedural History In early May 2009, Cain was unemployed and...
SULLIVAN, Justice. The defendant's first trial ended in a mistrial due to improper prejudicial comments made by defense counsel during closing argument. We hold that, although the defendant did not consent to the mistrial, his second trial did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that a mistrial was justified by manifest necessity. Background The defendant, Nathan Brock, was classified as a habitual...
DAVID, Justice. We have granted transfer from the Court of Appeals on this case involving the termination of parental rights between the child, C.G., and the child's mother, Z.G. We write to discuss important issues of due process that have not previously been before this Court. In all other aspects, we summarily affirm the Court of Appeals. Facts and Procedural History C.G. (Child) was born on December 22, 2000, to Z.M. (Mother). In 2004, Mother and Child moved to Indianapolis. In January...
RUCKER, Justice. At issue in this case is whether a County Sheriff Department that neither owns, maintains, nor controls a county road nonetheless owes a common law duty to warn the public of known hazardous conditions upon the roadway. We conclude it does not. Facts and Procedural History On the morning of November 27, 2007, at approximately 7:15 a.m., Pamela Price was driving northbound on County Road 375 West in Putnam County, Indiana. When Price reached a point approximately adjacent to...
On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 93A02-0911-EX-01121. SHEPARD, Chief Justice. Franklin Electric formed two new subsidiaries and started new unemployment experience accounts with a low introductory contribution rate for each one. We hold that the new subsidiaries are not new employers and that Franklin Electric's experience rate should have applied to contributions made by the subsidiaries. Facts and Procedural History Franklin Electric Co., Inc. is an Indiana...
On Direct Appeal RUCKER, Justice. Twenty-five year old Desmond Turner was charged in a multi-count information with murder, felony murder, criminal confinement, robbery, and burglary. The State also sought life imprisonment without parole. After a bench trial Turner was found guilty as charged and the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment without parole on the murder conviction. In addition, the trial court sentenced Turner to a term of years for the confinement, robbery, and...
On Petition for Rehearing DAVID, Justice. When law enforcement officers responding to a "domestic violence in progress call" arrived at the scene, the husband, about whom his wife had made the 911 call, got physical with the responding police officer. A jury found Richard Barnes guilty of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. We earlier affirmed his conviction, and he has petitioned for rehearing. In addition, the Attorney General has requested rehearing, as have amicus curiae...
DICKSON, Justice. Contending that the filing of an answer as required by Indiana Trial Rule 7 is not required in a will contest action, the defendants-appellants are challenging the default judgment entered against them in the trial court. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Avery v. Avery, 932 N.E.2d 1280 (Ind.Ct.App.2010). We agree. The Indiana Trial Rules apply to will contest actions, and the failure to file an answer or responsive pleading in accordance with Trial Rule 7 may result in a...
