The eggshell-skull doctrine does not apply in cases of murder or voluntary manslaughter. The relevant statutes require that the defendant either must intend to kill the victim or know that his actions will likely result in the victim’s death, which is inconsistent with the proposition that you take your victim as you find them.
Appeals
In re Visitation of C.B., No. 23A-MI-1586, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 24, 2024).
The Grandparents Visitation Act does not preclude a grandparent from seeking visitation with a child where the custodian of the child is the grandparent’s child.
Freed v. Freed, No. 23A-DC-129, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 26, 2024).
The Court adopts a balancing approach to resolve the custody of frozen pre-embryos that looks at: (1) the intended use of the pre-embryos by the party seeking to preserve them; (2) the reasonable ability of the party seeking implantation to have children through other means; (3) the parties’ original reasons for undergoing IVF, which may favor preservation over disposition; (4) the potential burden on the party seeking to avoid becoming a genetic parent; (5) either party’s bad faith attempt to use the pre-embryos as leverage in the dissolution proceeding; and (6) other considerations relevant to the parties’ unique situation.
Kelly v. State, No. 23A-CR-1805, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 10, 2024).
A trial court has discretion to deny a defendant’s motion to replace counsel during or immediately before trial.
Stone v. State, No. 23A-CR-625, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 12, 2024).
Convictions based on the same subsection of the rape statute that are mutually exclusive criminal acts — forcible sexual intercourse and forcible other sexual conduct — do not violate double jeopardy.