Ind. Code § 35-50-2-7(c)(1) proscribes the application of alternative misdemeanor sentencing (AMS) to a second felony within three years when “the person has committed a prior unrelated felony for which judgment was entered as a conviction of a Class A misdemeanor.” The statute employs past tense, as opposed to prospective, terminology; anticipated AMS for a prior unrelated felony would not bar AMS in a current case.
Coonce v. State, No. 23A-CR-1920, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., July 29, 2024).
Prior unrelated vehicular substance offenses used to support a habitual vehicular substance offender enhancement may be either felony or misdemeanor convictions.
In re Guardianship of Adducci, No. 23A-GU-2433, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., July 17, 2024).
FSSA had a right to intervene in guardianship because the spousal support order diverted money that would have otherwise been used to pay medical bills. The trial court could not increase spousal support because the state Medicaid statute requires a “fair hearing before the State agency” to determine if an allowance should be increased.
Walker v. State, No. 24A-CR-443, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., July 19, 2024).
Businesses have a legitimate interest in maintaining a safe environment and preserving order on their premises. However, once a business has entered into an agreement with an individual which grants the individual a contractual interest in its property, the individual may not be found to have committed criminal trespass so long as the individual’s contractual interest remains.
In re Guardianship of Sebastian, No. 23A-GU-3059, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., July 10, 2024).
When a parent, having abandoned a child, dies in that state of abandonment, the child’s inability to reunify with that parent is still due to abandonment for purposes of the Special Immigrant Juvenile statute