The Attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C.
Strong, Trial-Ready Advocates Protecting Your Rights
In prior blog posts we have discussed the two types of opinions issued by the Indiana Court of Appeals, “for publication” and “not for publication.” Generally opinions issued “not for publication” or “NFP” are applicable to only the specific case at hand. Only the opinions that meet certain criteria are issued “for publication”, as follows: If the case: establishes, modifies,…
When a matter is ripe for appeal, there first must be a determination of which Court has jurisdiction. In many cases, the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction, and the briefs, appendix, and related filings will be reviewed by the Court of Appeals. This is generally true for final orders. In some cases, however, the jurisdiction goes straight to the Indiana…
In civil cases, which include divorce and paternity actions, each party has the right to request a Special Judge (also called a change of Judge) one time.1 After a final decree is issued, such as a divorce decree, if a party seeks to modify same (modify custody, parenting time, or child support), either party is again entitled to one change…
In Indiana, most all cases that flow through the court system are not confidential. In other words, your name and all your legal business are potentially publicly available1. There are some cases, or persons involved in the case, that are automatically kept confidential, and only the parties and attorneys can access the court files, such as matters that fall under…
A recent blog discussed how an appellant (person initiating an appeal) gathers documents from the lower court hearing being appealed in an appendix to provide the Court of Appeals with the relevant information litigated to give a background into the matter. Additionally, the appellant will order a transcript of the lower court hearings for review by the parties and the…
When an order or judgment is taken up on appeal, there are several deadlines to be noted. For example, when the notice of appeal must be filed, when the transcript is due, and when the briefs are due. But what happens after the briefs are done and the Court of Appeals issues its Opinion? If the Court of Appeals affirms…
One common question parties wishing to appeal decisions/sentences/judgments have is how the Court of Appeals will hear the evidence underlying an appeal. A common misconception is that all appellate cases are heard before the Court of Appeals. However, it is only a fairly small percentage of cases that are heard and argued in person before the Court of Appeals, in…
Often we receive calls from litigants who are seeking to appeal a trial court order that was unfavorable to us, and one of the first questions we always ask is “when was the order issued?” This is an important question, because, while every litigant has the right to one appeal (to the Court of Appeals in Indiana), there are…
The appellate process can often seem elusive and might be considered by some to be “behind closed doors” because often, the appellate parties rarely appear before the Court of Appeals, and receive only a written opinion following their written briefs submitted to the higher appellate courts. The appeals court process in different from the trial court process in several ways.…
All final orders of Indiana trial courts are appealable by right, meaning that the Court of Appeals must review the merits of your appeal and issues a Decision thereon.1 The Supreme Court (of Indiana or the United States) has discretionary review of most types of cases (there are some that the Supreme Court must review, but generally those do not…