South Bend Tribune

Two law students from South Bend recently received “Diversity in Practice” Awards from Indiana Lawyer, a statewide newspaper for those in the legal profession.

The awards are presented for “extraordinary efforts in pursuing and creating a culture of diversity and inclusion within their institutions,” according to the publication.

The area winners are:

South Bend resident Karrah Miller, a student at Valparaiso University School of Law; and

Jessica L. Brock, a student at the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Miller is a graduate of Clay High School and a 2005 graduate of Purdue University. She is president of the Black Law Students Association at Valparaiso. After racial slurs were written on the university’s former Martin Luther King building, the association organized a student-faculty panel to discuss race relations and diversity on campus.

Brock served as an HIV and human rights intern in Uganda this past summer and also worked at a legal intern at the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and theology from Notre Dame in 2005, then worked as an assistant in an immigration law office in Kansas. She previously had interned at the office of attorney Rodolfo Monterrosa in South Bend, helping complete immigration paperwork for clients.

Indiana Law Blog Article

Today, this press release on the Court’s site that begins:

The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications has filed disciplinary charges against suspended LaPorte Superior Court Judge Jennifer L. Koethe. The Commission alleges Judge Koethe deliberately omitted and misrepresented facts to police about a December 2008 shooting at her home. The Commission also alleges that she asked a police officer to destroy evidence relevant to the official investigation into the shooting. The Commission alleges those actions violate numerous canons of the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Commission’s investigation into Judge Koethe’s actions surround a December 22, 2008 shooting at her home where she received a superficial wound to the scalp. At the scene, Judge Koethe told police she accidentally shot herself and did not know the location of the gun. Officers located two guns inside a laundry basket in the bedroom closet. Lab tests later showed one gun had been fired. At the hospital, Judge Koethe told detectives she and her husband had been arguing and she had retrieved the handgun because she wanted her husband to believe she was contemplating suicide. She maintained the shooting was accidental and said she thought the gun was unloaded. After speaking to detectives, she told a different police officer whom she knew well about a note she had written to her husband before the shooting. She then asked the officer, words to the effect of, “Can you make this go away? or “Get rid of it.” The note was later found by police in the bedroom closet.

During the police investigation of the shooting, Judge Koethe gave two taped statements. In the first statement, Judge Koethe deliberately omitted the fact that she wrote the note to her husband. She also claimed she thought the gun was unloaded because she had removed the magazine. However, in the second taped statement, Judge Koethe altered her account to track her husband’s initial statement to police. She stated that the gun had been unloaded when she first picked it up because the couple had unloaded the household guns several days earlier in anticipation of being out of the home. During her second statement, Judge Koethe denied any knowledge regarding the whereabouts of the gun and note after the shooting. Judge Koethe’s husband, Stephen Koethe, later admitted to police that he hid the gun and note in the bedroom closet at a time when Judge Koethe was in the room.

In May 2009 a grand jury returned a felony indictment against Judge Koethe for Attempted Obstruction of Justice. When the felony indictment was filed, the Indiana Supreme Court suspended Judge Koethe with pay. Having investigated the incident, the Commission has now filed three counts of judicial misconduct against Judge Koethe. These counts are separate from any criminal charges filed in an Indiana trial court.

The Commission’s “Notice of the Institution of Formal Proceedings and Statement of Charges” was filed with the Indiana Supreme Court on December 10, 2009. The seven-page Notice and Charging document is attached. The 2008 and 2009 Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct can also be found in attachments accompanying this press release.

Here is the 7-page Notice of the Institution of Formal Proceedings and Statement of Charges.

INDIANA SUPREME COURT

State of Indiana ex rel. Crain Heating Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. v. The Clark Circuit Court, et al.
Relator alleges the trial court failed to rule on its motion for preliminary injunction within the time required by the Trial Rules. Relator further alleges the trial court clerk failed in her duty to withdraw the case from the trial court for appointment of a special judge after Relator filed its praecipe. * * *

Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the writ. The Honorable Daniel E. Moore is directed to vacate the “Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order Denying Preliminary Injunction and Other Orders” filed on October 2, 2009, and to cease exercising jurisdiction over the case below except as to any administrative tasks necessary to effectuate this writ. Barbara Bratcher-Hass, clerk of the trial court, is directed to give written notice to Judge Moore and this Court that submission of the case has been withdrawn in accordance with Trial Rule 53.1(E)(2).

The Court takes under advisement whether to issue an opinion explaining the reasons for granting this writ.

Justice Rucker dissented.

Danny Ray Wilkes v. State of Indiana
In this direct appeal, Daniel Wilkes appeals his murder convictions and death sentence. We affirm Wilkes’s murder convictions and death sentence. * * *

Gary Community School Corp. v. Lolita Roach-Walker and Victor Walker

The Indiana Tort Claims Act confers immunity on units of government from liability for injuries caused by ?[t]he temporary condition of a public thoroughfare . . . that results from weather.? We hold that this provision bars claims for injuries sustained during the time reasonably required for the governmental unit to respond to weather conditions. The governmental unit bears the burden of establishing its claim to immunity and in this case the Gary Schools did not carry its burden, so we affirm the judgment of the trial court in favor of the plaintiffs.

INDIANA COURT OF APPEALS

Jeff Howell v. State of Indiana
49A04-0903-CR-172
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony obstruction of justice. The messages sent by C.C. using Howell’s screen name constitutes false records, documents or things, and the evidence supports inference that Howell intended the messages sent by C.C. to mislead a public servant.

Stephanie Reeder v. John Reeder, respondent; Coots Henke & Wheeler
29A02-0902-CV-142
Civil. Affirms award of attorney’s fees to Coots Henke & Wheeler. The trial court didn’t err in ordering Stephanie to pay a particular amount to the law firm nor did it erroneously deprive her of a jury trial.

Samuel Fancher v. State of Indiana
49A02-0904-CR-301
Criminal. Affirms conviction of murder and aggravated battery as a Class B felony. Fancher failed to demonstrate that his equal protection rights were violated by the admission of Curtis Williams’ testimony. There is sufficient evidence to sustain Fancher’s convictions.

Michael Annis v. State of Indiana
76A03-0908-CR-369
Criminal. Affirms conviction of operating a vehicle with a suspended license as a Class D felony. Annis’ scooter meets the definition of a motorized vehicle because it was able to travel at more than 25 mph and had a cylinder capacity greater than 50 cubic centimeters.

INDIANA TAX COURT

Big Foot Stores LLC v. Franklin Twp. Assessor, Mill Twp. Assessor, et al.
On appeal, Big Foot asserts that the Indiana Board erred in upholding the 2003 interim assessments of its real property for two reasons. First, Big Foot asserts that interim assessments may be made only when there has been a change to the property that increases or decreases its value. Alternatively, Big Foot asserts that its interim assessments were improper because they were essentially the result of “sales chasing,” “selective reappraisals,” or “spot assessments.”[5] The Court will address these claims in turn.

Wayne Robey v. Fairfield Township Assessor (NFP)

Indiana Lawyer Article

A hearing officer has been appointed in Delaware County Prosecutor Mark R. McKinney’s discipline case.

Indiana Supreme Court
Otho L. Lafayette V. State
Defendant Otho Lafayette was convicted of rape based in part on evidence of a ten-year-old conviction for attempted rape of another woman. Indiana law prohibits the use of evidence of prior crimes “to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity there-with” except in certain circumstances. The exceptional circumstance advanced by the State – intent – does not apply in this case. Accordingly, we reverse Defendant’s conviction. * * *

The defendant’s conviction is reversed, and this cause is remanded to the trial court for a new trial.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Javier Abrajan v. State of Indiana
49A05-0905-CR-264
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class A felony rape. Abrajan’s possession of a gun was a material element of the offense that he was convicted of, and was consequently an improper aggravator. The error is harmless, and based on the nature of the offense and his character, the advisory 30-year sentence is appropriate.

Maureen Reel, et al v. Clarian Health Partners, Inc. (see below, IN COA Upholds Dismissal of Proposed Class)

Indiana Lawyer Article

Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard is receiving a national award from the American Judicature Society for his “distinguished judicial service.”