The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Act does not preempt equitable claims against a federal employee life insurance policy.
Supreme
Hoglund v. State, No. 90S02-1105-CR-294, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind., Mar. 8, 2012).
Testimony that a “child is not prone to exaggerate or fantasize about sexual matters” will no longer be allowed.
Cartwright v. State, No. 82S01-1109-CR-564, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind., Feb. 22, 2012).
Affirms trial court’s rejection of Batson challenge.
Abbott v. State, No. 34S02-1202-CR-110, __N.E.2d __ (Ind., Feb. 22, 2012).
Maximum sentence was inappropriate when B felony enhancement was due to the arresting officer’s stopping the defendant’s car a few yards from a church.
Addison v. State, No. 49S05-1105-CR-267, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind., Feb. 22, 2012).
In addressing a Batson challenge by a defendant who failed to rebut the State’s purported race-neutral explanation at trial, the fundamental error standard is used on appeal to evaluate the argument the explanation was a pretext; concludes State’s explanation was a pretext when “the State failed to strike apparently similarly situated non-black venirepersons, . . . mischaracterized Turner’s voir dire testimony when offering its race-neutral reason for striking him from the panel and failed to engage Turner in any meaningful voir dire examination on the issue of his reliance on expert witness testimony.”