Voluntary manslaughter may be brought as a standalone charge with the element of sudden heat as a mitigating factor, which a jury may consider along with claims of self-defense.
M. Massa
Gunderson v. State, No. 46S03-1706-PL-423, __ N.E.3d __(Ind., Feb. 14, 2018).
The boundary separating public trust land from privately-owned riparian land along the shores of Lake Michigan is the common-law ordinary high-water mark and that, absent an authorized legislative conveyance, the State retains exclusive title up to that boundary.
Johnson v. State, No. 32S05-1707-CR-469, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 21, 2017).
The state must prove that each of the three prior unrelated felony convictions meet the ten-year requirement in order to have a person sentenced as a habitual offender under Ind. Code 35-50-2-8(d).
Calvin v. State, No. 02S03-1709-CR-611 , __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 21, 2017).
Despite an argument that it leads to an absurd result, a level 4 burglary conviction could not be enhanced with a habitual-offender finding because defendant’s two prior out-of-state convictions must be treated as Level 6 felonies under Ind. Code 35-50-2-8(b).
Sedam v. 2JR Pizza Enterprises, LLC, No. 39S05-1703-CT-171, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Oct. 31, 2017).
When an employer admits that an employee was acting within the course and scope of his or her employment, absent special circumstances, negligent hiring claims are precluded.