Trial court has no statutory authority to change a child’s last name in a divorce decree.
Appeals
Vonhoene v. State, 20A-CR-328, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., March 18, 2021).
A defendant has the right to counsel at each critical stage of a criminal matter, unless the defendant relinquishes that right by waiver, forfeiture, or forfeiture with knowledge.
Mishra v. State, 20A-XP-1726, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Mar. 9, 2021).
A court is not authorized to consider an expunged conviction in the context of an expungement proceeding for purposes of determining whether the person has a conviction within the previous five years.
Ball v. State, 20A-XP-1521, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 23, 2021).
Where a co-defendant in the same case has compensated the victim, the statutory restitution obligation has been satisfied and therefore, the non-paying co-defendant is eligible for expungement.
In the Matter of the Change of Gender Identification of A.B., No. 20A-MI-1580, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App, Feb. 24, 2021).
Parents have authority to petition to change the gender marker of their child on the child’s birth certificate. The appropriate standard is whether the change is in the child’s best interests.