“The common-law obdurate behavior exception and the General Recovery Rule cannot authorize a trial court to award attorney’s fees when a party voluntarily dismisses its suit with prejudice. But a court can, at any point in litigation, exercise its inherent authority to sanction a party’s bad behavior by shifting fees.”
In re Termination of Tre.S, No. 19A-JT-2915, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., May 27, 2020).
Reminder to trial-level DCS attorneys and trial courts that they have a duty to ensure that parents’ due-process rights in termination cases are not violated.
Payne v. State, No. 20S-CR-313, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., May 18, 2020).
When there is no conflict in expert opinion that a defendant is legally insane, the State must present other probative evidence from which to infer the defendant’s sanity.
Jackson v. State, No. 20S-CR-315, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., May 19, 2020).
The twenty-seven-year sentence the prosecutor recommended, and thirty-six-year enhanced sentence imposed by the trial court, absent more significant aggravating factors, was inappropriate.
Johnson v. State, No. 20S-CR-61, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., May 22, 2020).
A general waiver of a right to appeal a sentence in plea agreement, when contained in the same sentence as an unenforceable waiver of post-conviction relief, is insufficiently explicit to establish a knowing and voluntary waiver of the right to appeal a sentence.