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Monday, April 09, 2007

Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues 3 today (and 8 NFP)

For publication opinions today (3):

In A.B. v. State of Indiana, a 10-page opinion by Judge Riley, the issue is whether "the message authored by A.B. and posted on a myspace.com website is protected political speech." Riley writes:

With respect to A.B.’s February 15, 2006 posting, A.B. contends that the juvenile court erred by not protecting its content as political speech pursuant to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 9 of the Indiana Constitution. A.B. asserts that her message, made in a public forum and criticizing Gobert, a state actor, in implementing a school policy proscribing decorative piercings is a legitimate communication envisioned within the bounds of protected political speech. * * *

Based on the evidence before us, we find that there is insufficient evidence to support that A.B.’s adjudication of harassment based on her posted message of February 15, 2006 is consistent with her right to free speech contained in Article 1, Section 9 of the Indiana Constitution. Therefore, we hold that A.B.’s conviction for harassment contravened her right to speak, as guaranteed by the Indiana Constitution. Accordingly, we remand to the trial court with instruction to vacate her adjudication.

CONCLUSION Based on the foregoing, we hold that the trial court erred in finding A.B. a juvenile delinquent based on six Counts of harassment. We reverse the decision of the juvenile court and remand the cause with instructions to vacate the adjudication.

Derrico Davis v. State of Indiana - Here the issue is whether the evidence against defendant Davis is sufficient to sustain his conviction for dealing in cocaine as a class B felony. In a 2-1 opinion, the Court rules yes.

In Benton Barber v. State of Indiana , a 21-page opinion, Judge Vaidik writes:

Benton Barber appeals his convictions and sentence for two counts of reckless homicide and one count of failure to stop after an accident resulting in death. We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support Barber’s convictions, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Barber, and that Barber’s sentence is not inappropriate in light of the nature of his offenses and his character. Furthermore, because, as this Court held in White v. State, 849 N.E.2d 735 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006), reh’g denied, trans. denied, Indiana Code § 35-50-2-1.3 adds no restrictions on the ability of trial courts to impose consecutive sentences beyond the restrictions already in place by virtue of Indiana Code § 35-50-1-2(c), the trial court did not err in imposing consecutive maximum sentences for Barber’s two reckless homicide convictions. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
NFP civil opinions today (2):

Jeffrey Lamberson, Jr. v. Indiana Department of Child Services (NVP) - involuntary termination, affirmed.

In the Matter of the Paternity of K.J.A.; Amanda D. Tolliver v. Eric Atteberry (NFP) - custody dispute, affirmed.

NFP criminal opinions today (6):

Micah Perryman v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Damon Gray v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Michael Gross v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Larry D. Cameron v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Frank Fugate, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Marvin Reffett v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 9, 2007 01:28 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions