Justia Indiana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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 suppress.Defendant offered to sell a substance to a strange at a casino, and the incident was captured by video surveillance. A gaming enforcement agent took Defendant to an interview room, patted him down, and found packaged drugs. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence stemming from the pat-down. The trial court denied the motion and found Defendant guilty. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the search and seizure proceeded within the bounds of the Fourth Amendment, and therefore, the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress. View "Johnson v. State" on Justia Law

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 demonstrate that the misconduct probably harmed him.After Defendant was convicted, he filed a motion to set aside the verdict based on juror misconduct, alleging that one juror, L.W., falsely answered the juror questionnaire. The juror wrote "N/A," meaning not applicable, in response to questions about the jurors past criminal history and whether she had been a victim of a crime, when those answers should have been a yes. The trial court denied Defendant's motion to set aside the verdict. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) juror L.W. committed gross misconduct; but (2) despite the gross misconduct, it was unlikely that Defendant was harmed. View "Loehrlein v. State" on Justia Law

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 35-38-9-4(b)(3) rendered Defendant ineligible for expungement, the case must be remanded.Defendant pled guilty to Class B felony conspiracy to commit burglary. After Defendant completed all the terms of his probation without any violations and waiting the required three years he petitioned for expungement. The trial court denied the petition without explaining its reasoning. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a trial court may consider facts incident to the conviction when evaluating an expungement petition; and (2) a trial court should first determine whether the conviction is eligible for expungement and then whether it merits expungement; and (3) because the trial court did not articulate its reasons for denying Defendant's petition, the case is remanded with instructions for the court to reconsider its decision consistent with this opinion. View "Allen v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of molesting and murdering an eighteen-month-old boy, holding that the trial court did not commit fundamental error by admitting improper character evidence and medical-personnel testimony and that Defendant was not entitled to relief based on his challenged aggravators.During sentencing, the jury found three statutory aggravators beyond a reasonable doubt and recommended life imprisonment without parole. The trial court adopted the recommendation. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant failed to show that the trial court committed fundamental error by admitting certain testimony; and (2) the State introduced sufficient evidence during sentencing to support the torture and child-molest aggravators. View "Tate v. State" on Justia Law

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 35-38-9-4(b)(3) rendered Defendant ineligible for expungement, remand was required.Appellant pled guilty to Class B felony conspiracy to commit burglary. After completing the terms of his probation without any violations and waiting the required three years, Appellant petitioned for expungement under section 35-38-9-4. The trial court denied the petition for expungement without explaining its reasoning. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a trial court may consider facts incident to the conviction when evaluating an expungement petition; and (2) because the trial court did not articulate why it denied Appellant's petition, the case must be remanded with instructions for the court to reconsider its decision consistent with this opinion. View "Allen v. State" on Justia Law

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 the misconduct.The juror at issue wrote "N/A," meaning not applicable, in response to jury questions on her jury questionnaire regarding her past criminal history and whether she had herself been a victim of a crime. The juror, however, had in fact been charged with a crime and had been the victim of domestic abuse. The court of appeals reversed the convictions, finding that the trial court erred in not finding that the juror's false answers amounted to gross misconduct that probably harmed Defendant. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that, despite the jurors gross misconduct, it was unlikely that Defendant was harmed. View "Loehrlein v. State" on Justia Law

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 denying Defendant's motion to suppress.At a casino, Defendant offered to sell a substance to a stranger, who reported the incident. Thereafter, a Gaming Enforcement Agent led Defendant to an interview room and proceeded to pat him down. The trial court admitted the evidence discovered as a result of the pat down. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the search and seizure proceeded within the bounds of the Fourth Amendment; and (2) therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence obtained as a result. View "Johnson v. State" on Justia Law

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 Defendant's sentence.Defendant was convicted of two counts of murder, felony armed robbery, and felony conspiracy to commit criminal gang activity. The trial court sentenced Defendant to an aggregate sentence of 181 years. Defendant later sought post-conviction relief, arguing that, because he was a juvenile when he committed the crimes at issue, the criminal gang enhancement was unconstitutional as applied and that both his trial counsel and appellate counsel were ineffective. The post-conviction court denied Defendant's petition for relief. The Supreme Court revised Defendant's sentence downward to an aggregate 100 years, holding (1) Defendant's original sentence was not unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment because the sentence was not subject to the requirements of Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012); but (2) Defendant's appellate counsel performed inadequately by failing to request appellate review of the sentence's appropriateness under Appellate Rule 7(B). View "Wilson v. State" on Justia Law

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 was inappropriate.Defendant was seventeen years old when he and two others committed murder in 1991. Defendant received an aggregate sentence of 138 years, which was the maximum possible term-of-years sentence. In 2016, Defendant filed a verified petition for post-conviction relief challenging the propriety of his sentence in light of the fact that he was a juvenile when he committed the crimes. The post-conviction court granted the petition and imposed an aggregate sixty-eight-year sentence. The Supreme Court affirmed the order granting relief and revisited its prior decision regarding the appropriateness of his sentence but revised the sentence to an aggregate term of eighty-eight years, holding (1) the doctrine of res judicata does not bar consideration of Defendant's appropriateness argument due to two major shifts in the law; and (2) Defendant's maximum term-of-years sentence imposed for crimes he committed as a juvenile was inappropriate. View "State v. Stidham" on Justia Law

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 extraordinary six-plus-year delay.Defendant was serving an eighty-year sentence when the trial court vacated his thirty-year habitual offender enhancement. The court granted the State permission to retry the habitual offender allegation, but it would be nearly six and a half years before Defendant was retried. Before his retrial, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss, alleging a violation of Ind. Crim. R. 4(C) and his constitutional right to a speedy trial. The court denied Defendant's motion to dismiss. After a trial, a jury found that Defendant was a habitual offender. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Defendant was not entitled to discharge under Rule 4(C) because that rule does not apply to the retrial of a habitual offender allegation; but (2) Defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated, and therefore, Defendant was entitled to relief. View "Watson v. State" on Justia Law