Tag Archives: Indiana Supreme Court

Porter County Lawyer s Affected by Technology Changes in Indiana Courts

Porter County Lawyer TechnologyAfter being in the works for nearly ten (10) years, the Indiana Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will be requiring electronic filing in all appellate cases and in some county superior and circuit courts sometime within the next sixty (60) days.  (Read more here: Appellate pleadings, motions to be put online sometime in next 60 days).  This will affect all Porter County lawyer s, but not as much as the likely changes coming soon.

The courts have utilized online dockets since they came online sometime in 2012-2013.  This has allowed Porter County lawyer s, judges, and court administrators to check live data as the cases develop and progress.  Since October of 2015, the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court have taken the next step to accept online filings.  To this point, the Indiana higher courts have allowed online filings at the Porter County lawyer ‘s option.  Within sixty (60) days, electronic filing will be mandatory in all cases before the top two tiers of the Indiana judicial system and soon may be available to Porter County lawyer s.

Porter County Lawyer Technology

In addition, the Indiana Supreme Court is requiring all filings with the Hamilton County Circuit and Superior courts to be electronic. This is the first step of many in all trial courts (circuit and superior) to be online.  Very soon, we will likely see Porter County lawyer s doing all filing from their home or office PC’s, instead of incurring the extensive costs and time of mailing or hand filing.

Indiana is one of the first states in the country to employ such technology in the filing of pleadings and papers.  Doing so could have a very positive environmental impact, as well as assisting Porter County lawyer s and judges in organization and efficiency.  All courts in Indiana are required to be online by 2017.

Indiana Supreme Court to Hold Oral Argument at Portage High School October 30, 2015

Indiana_Supreme_Court

The Indiana Supreme Court will travel to Portage High School in Portage, Indiana on Friday, October 30, 2015 to hear the case, Leonard Suggs v. State of Indiana (02S03-1508-CR-510).  The general public is invited to attend, along with students from various schools in Porter County. (The link to the Official Page can be found here.)

Oral argument is a process by which both sides of a case argue based upon the content of their briefs, which are generally twenty five (25) page documents outlining the authorities and arguments for their respective sides.  In this case, present will be the State of Indiana (by its Deputy Attorney General, Katherine Cooper) and Mr. Suggs’ Criminal Defense/Appellate Attorney, Paul S. Miller of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

This case is a criminal case. In order for criminal cases to reach the Indiana Supreme Court, one (1) of three (3) things must have occurred: first, the case must have already been decided by the Indiana Court of Appeals, or second, the case involves an issue of the Indiana Constitution, or third, a mandatory Indiana Supreme Court review of all death sentences. In this case, the Indiana Appellate Court has already ruled, and the Indiana Supreme Court elected to grant transfer and hear this case.

The present case involves events that took place in a bowling alley in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The record states that the Defendant threw a bowling ball at the side of the head of his then girlfriend, Evelyn Garrett, causing her injury and pain.

The case was filed under charges of Domestic Battery, as a Level 6 Felony.  In order to charge the crime as such, the State must prove that the victim was “living as the spouse” of the Defendant. According to the Indiana Court of Appeals Record, the two cohabitated for two (2) years, sharing a bedroom and engaging in an intimate relationship.  The Defendant, Leonard Suggs, argues that this is insufficient to demonstrate that the victim was “living as a spouse”, while the State of Indiana contends that the two were clearly within such definition.  Up to this point, both the Allen County trial court and the Indiana Court of Appeals has agreed with the State of Indiana.  The Indiana Supreme Court will be the final authority on the case, and will bind future decisions based on its opinion.

SFT Lawyers looks forward to seeing you there!

Indiana Supreme Court Headed to Portage, Indiana!

Indiana Supreme Court Portage, IndianaIn its Traveling Oral Arguments program, the Indiana Supreme Court has selected Portage High School for its oral argument on October 30, 2015.  (See official in.gov posting here.)

Oral arguments in a particular case focus on the legal issues surrounding the controversy between the parties, and are usually presented after the case has been fully “briefed”.  (For a detailed description of oral arguments, read more here.)  Oral arguments usually focus on the finer points of each side’s case, and usually require each lawyer to prepare for tens or hundreds of hours to be ready for any question he or she might encounter.  The questions are largely based on what is written in the briefs, but no one knows ahead of time the exact questions that will be asked.  Each justice will have the opportunity to ask questions of each lawyer for each respective side, and each side has a time limit in presenting his or her case.

The details of the case will not be known until shortly before oral arguments are held.  Cases for traveling oral argument are actual cases pending before the Indiana Supreme Court, and the justices will likely take their questions and answers under advisement until several weeks later when a decision will be rendered and published.

This program is an educational program begun by former Chief Justice Randall Shepard, and continued by Chief Justice Loretta Rush.  It focuses on exposure to high school students of the actual legal process in Indiana’s highest court.  The Indiana Court of Appeals (Indiana’s second highest court) has a similar program intent on educating high school students on the oral argument process.

The Porter County Bar Association in concert with the Lake County Bar Association, with the help of the staff of the Indiana Supreme Court were able to coordinate the event as well as other networking and public relations events.