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Thursday, May 25, 2006
Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals decides three today
In Nakea R. Ables v. State of Indiana, an 8-page opinion, Judge Sharpnack rules that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing defendant.
In John T. Bridgeforth, et al v. Joy L. Thornton, et al, a 25-page opinion, Judge Vaidik begins with this case summary:
The present case reaches this Court as a result of an ongoing and lamentable feud within the congregation of Greater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church. To date, this dispute regarding control of the church’s Board of Trustees has wreaked havoc on this congregation for nearly two-and-a-half years, leaving its membership fractionalized and continuously jeopardizing its day-to-day operations. The Appellants, who were temporarily reinstated as the duly elected Trustees of the church under the trial court’s judgment, argue that the court lacked the jurisdictional authority to concurrently order that a new election be held forthwith to determine whether the congregation, indeed, wished to remove them from office. They further argue that the trial court erred by denying their claim for damages under the Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act. Finding that the trial court properly exercised its jurisdiction and that the Trustees failed to prove their case under the Crime Victim’s Relief Act, we affirm the holding of the trial court.In Bilal Abdullah v. State of Indiana, an 8-page opinion, Judge Vaidik begins with this case summary:
Bilal Abdullah appeals his conviction on one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and his habitual offender enhancement. Among other things, Abdullah contends that the trial court erred when it relied on an abstract of judgment lacking a judicial signature as support for its findings that Abdullah is a serious violent felon and a habitual offender. We agree with Abdullah on this point, and we hold that where an abstract of judgment is the only evidence before the court introduced to show that an offender has a prior conviction for purposes of proving his statuses as a serious violent felon and as a habitual offender, Indiana Trial Rule 58 requires that the abstract be signed by the judge who ordered the conviction. Finding this issue dispositive, we vacate Abdullah’s conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and the trial court’s finding that he is a habitual offender. * * * Reversed.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 25, 2006 12:40 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions