Same-sex couple’s California registered domestic partnership established a relationship virtually identical to marriage, and under the principle of comity, their relationship is a spousal relationship. Child born by artificial insemination was a child of the spousal relationship; trial court did not err in awarding joint legal custody and parenting time and ordering partner to pay child support.
Appeals
State v. Smith, No. 45A05-1507-CR-945, ___N.E.3d___ (Ind. Ct. App., Aug. 2, 2016).
Trial court had authority to convert felony conviction to a misdemeanor; the terms of the plea agreement do not preclude the conversion because the parties could not have contemplated a misdemeanor conversion when it was entered.
Zanders v. State, No. 15A01-1509-CR-1519, ___N.E.3d___ (Ind. Ct. App., Aug. 4, 2016).
Law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before searching a cell phone incident to arrest and gathering location data on its GPS device.
Chastain v. State, No. 20A03-1510-CR-1839, ___N.E.3d___ (Ind. Ct. App., Aug. 4, 2016).
There is no requirement in the intimidation statute that a prior lawful act has to be completed for any considerable length of time before a threat is made; as a matter of public policy, people should be able to attempt to defuse situations without being threatened with the use of deadly force.
Hubbell v. State, No. 03A01-1511-PC-1927, ___N.E.3d___ (Ind. Ct. App., Aug. 5, 2016).
Trial court is required to order copy of Record of Proceedings from Supreme Court Clerk when requested by pro se petitioner for post-conviction relief.