Parties satisfy “the exhaustion rule” required for “appellate review of for-cause challenges to prospective jurors” “the moment they use their final peremptory challenge” – regardless of whether the final peremptory is used to strike “a candidate they consider undesirable” or instead is used to cure the trial court’s refusal to strike an allegedy incompetent one for cause.” And parties who comply with the exhaustion rule and also show they were unable to remove any objectionable juror because they had no peremptories left may have appellate review of any denial of a motion to strike for cause, even if no challenged juror actually served on the jury.
Dawson v. Thornton, Inc., No. 49A02-1403-CT-208, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Oct. 22, 2014).
The trial court properly did not instruct the jury regarding spoliation of evidence when plaintiff inspected and took pictures of the evidence, and the evidence was available for over a year after the incident.
Wysocki v. Johnson, No. 45S03-1407-CT-459, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Oct. 15, 2014).
Liability under the Crime Victims Relief Act is a ”matter of the factfinder’s discretionary judgment of whether the defendant is criminally culpable.”
Richard v. State, No. 46A05-1312-CR-628, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Oct. 8, 2014).
Evidence that housing complex was at the time of trial a “family housing complex” as defined by statute was insufficient to prove the drug transaction was within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex at the time of the alleged offense.
Evansville Courier & Press v. Vanderburgh County Health Dept., No. 82S04-1401-PL-49, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Oct. 7, 2014).
Death certificates with the cause of death are public records and should be available to anyone requesting access.