Indiana

Indiana Supreme Court weighs discovery of cell phone data with right to privacy

Published

7 months ago

June 21, 2024

Indiana Supreme Court weighs discovery of cell phone data with right to privacy

INDIANAPOLIS (INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE) — The Indiana Supreme Court is considering how to balance the discovery of cell phone information with privacy rights following a hearing Thursday where a car accident victim wanted access to phone data of the driver who struck him.

The victim, Charles Jennings, argued a lower trial court abused its discretion when prohibiting him from inspecting the phone data.

During Thursday’s oral argument, a lawyer for Jennings said the exclusion of the requested evidence could have contradicted the driver’s deposition and impacted the outcome of a jury trial. Jennings sought phone data showing whether the person driving was using the navigation application “Waze” during the accident.

A smartphone contains far more information than a personal diary.
– Attorney Bob Durham
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“If this jury knew that she was lying about having Waze on, at the end of the day they would say ‘okay we don’t trust her,’” said Bryan Babb.

However, a lawyer for the driver, Jessica Smiley, said allowing the man to access her unlocked phone posed overwhelming privacy concerns.

“A smartphone contains far more information than a personal diary,” said Bob Durham.

Background of the case

Smiley was driving in Carmel in December 2019 when she struck Jennings, who was walking across the street at the time of the accident. According to an Indiana Court of Appeals opinion, Jennings had stepped into the street from behind a box truck, which had blocked Smiley’s view of him. Jennings sued Smiley in February 2020, arguing she had been “negligent” while driving. In her answer to Jennings’ complaint, Smiley claimed Jennings had been “contributorily negligent.”

A year later, Jennings moved to compel discovery of Smiley’s cellphone data, seeking to find out if she was using Waze at the time of the accident. Smiley had previously said in a deposition that she had been using the app when she started her drive, but was not using it during the accident.

Although the trial court initially granted Jennings’ motion, Smiley asked the court to reconsider due to privacy concerns. In September 2021 the trial court overrode its prior decision and denied the motion to compel.

In January 2023 a jury found Jennings had been 90% at fault and Smiley had been 10% at fault for the accident after experts testified Jennings had not crossed at an intersection or crosswalk, and that there was limited evidence Smiley was distracted or driving recklessly. The trial court ruled in Smiley’s favor and the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed that decision.

Balancing discovery and privacy

During Thursday’s hearing, Babb argued the trial court’s decision to deny the requested discovery constituted a reversible error. He said if his client finds data showing Smiley was using the navigation app at the time of the accident, the jury’s judgment should be reversed and vacated.

Babb said Jennings needed access to Smiley’s phone to see if she was using the application within an hour of the accident. If they found Waze was running, Babb asserted they could then investigate further to find out if Smiley was interacting with the app — which allows users to tap on their screens to report traffic delays and accidents. Since Smiley said in her deposition she wasn’t using the app, just that she had checked the app before starting her drive, Babb said contradicting data would prove she was “a liar” — something he believes would influence a jury’s decision.

However, Indiana Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Slaughter said Jennings could have gotten that same information without accessing the phone, such as by contacting Waze to obtain the user data.

“It’s not obvious to me you couldn’t have gotten it from an alternative source,” Slaughter said.

Additionally, Durham, Smiley’s attorney, said the characterization of his client was not central to the case.

“The question for the jury was ‘was she negligent?’ not ‘is she a liar?’” Durham told the court.

The justices asked both parties’ attorneys about the privacy implications of allowing cell phone discovery in civil cases. Durham said that even if the other party was only looking for the hour of Waze data, there are no safeguards to prevent them from accessing texts, emails and other personal information.

“Discovery in its very nature is intrusive,” Justice Derek Molter said in response to Durham.

The court will issue a decision in the coming months.

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Indiana

Latest forecast: How much snow will Indiana get Friday? When will it fall?

Published

6 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Latest forecast: How much snow will Indiana get Friday? When will it fall?

The Bloomington area will get more snow today. Here’s how much the National Weather Service now expects to fall and when.

How much snow will Monroe County get Friday?

Aaron Updike, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis said the Bloomington area is expected to get between 2 and 4 inches of snow.

Southern parts of Indiana could see even more, with Bedford projected to get close to 4 inches and areas closer to Louisville possibly seeing 6 inches.

When will the snow fall today in the Bloomington area?

Updike said the NWS expects the snow to begin around 11 a.m. and end about 12 hours later. However, he said, the day will bring periods of lulls and peaks, though those are more difficult to predict.

Generally, Updike said, the heaviest accumulation will occur from mid-to-late afternoon, around 2 to 6 p.m.

He urged commuters to take extra time and care, as they may experience slippery roads and sidewalks on their way home.

What kind of snow will be falling in Indiana on Friday?

Updike said the snow should be light and fluffy. The NWS expects only light wind, with gusts of 10 to 15 mph, which means the area should not expect to see much drifting snow.

How cold will it get in the Bloomington area tonight?

The NWS projects that the cloud cover will hang around the area for a while, which will contribute to temperatures falling only to about 20 degrees.

Is there a chance of snowmelt any time soon in Indiana?

Updike said temperatures should rise to near freezing on Sunday, and the area also might see some pockets of sunshine, which should help melt some snow especially on pavement and roads.

However, he said temperatures will not rise enough in the next few days to melt all of the snow.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

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Indiana

Indiana Fever linked to trade for 2-time All-Star

Published

15 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Indiana Fever linked to trade for 2-time All-Star

Satou Sabally was immediately linked to the New York Liberty after announcing that she has played her final game for the Dallas Wings during Unrivaled Basketball’s media availability on Thursday. However, the Indiana Fever are another team who were recently mentioned as a possible trade suitor for the two-time All-Star, via Chloe Peterson of indystar.com.

Satou Sabally announced during Unrivaled media availability that she will not be returning to Dallas, and she has already communicated that with the franchise.
She could be a huge target for the Fever, if Indiana is able to put together a lucrative enough trade package.
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) January 9, 2025

Sabally’s announcement was the primary discussion swirling around the WNBA world on Thursday. The Wings will have the option to core Sabally, which will likely lead to a trade given her comments on Thursday. The chances of Dallas simply letting Sabally walk in free agency while passing on the option to core her are slim, but Sabally will likely still end up with a new team for the 2025 season.

The question is which team will she end up with? The defending-champion Liberty have Satou’s sister Nyara Sabally on the roster, so that may catch Satou’s attention. Joining an up-and-coming team like the Fever may also entice Satou, though.

There will be other candidates aside from Indiana and New York, of course. The Fever and Liberty both make sense as possible trade destinations for Satou Sabally, however. At only 26 years old, Sabally features the ceiling of a true superstar. If she can stay healthy, Sabally can significantly impact any team she joins.

Fever could trade for Satou Sabally

Sabally would add more star-power alongside Caitlin Clark in Indiana. Clark instantly became one of the most popular players in the WNBA in her rookie season during the 2024 campaign. Adding a star or two would help Indiana, though.

The Fever reached the postseason but were quickly eliminated in the first round. Indiana’s future remains bright, but they need to upgrade the roster around Clark. Sabally would turn the Fever into serious contenders.

If the Liberty find a way to acquire Sabally, however, the rest of the WNBA may be in trouble. With Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones already on the roster, the Liberty project to be a championship contender once again. Assuming Stewart returns, the Liberty will compete with or without Sabally, but adding her to the roster would turn New York into a super-team.

Sabally’s announcement on Thursday is already changing the landscape of the WNBA. Rumors will continue to swirl over the next few months. If Sabally is traded, which is seemingly expected at this point, whichever team acquires her will take a big step forward.

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Indiana

Winter Weather Advisory issued for Friday morning across central Indiana

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Winter Weather Advisory issued for Friday morning across central Indiana

It was the coldest morning of the season so far across Central Indiana. For Indianapolis, we had our coldest temperatures since January 21, 2024 with a low of 5°. Crawfordsville and Columbus both had balmy lows of -8°. The clear skies, light winds and fresh snowpack allowed more heat to be released into the atmosphere. For tonight, it will still be chilly. But, we’ll have increasing clouds overnight ahead of our next snowmaker.

Tracking our next snow

This behemoth of a weather maker prompts winter headlines across several states across the United States. This includes Winter Storm Warnings from Raleigh, North Carolina through Dallas, Texas. Some spots in the northern Dallas suburbs could approach half an inch of snowfall overnight and into Friday. We’ll get our share of the snow Friday, too and it will come with commute impacts. Winter Weather Advisory kicks in at 4:00 a.m. Friday and sticks with us through 4:00 a.m. Saturday.

Most of the Friday morning commute should be okay. However, the tail-end of the commute could see some snow showers starting SW and west of Indianapolis. Because of this, a few slick spots can’t be ruled out but those will be few and far between. That activity will gradually spread NE throughout the morning and afternoon. It will become a steady snow from that time and stick around through the Friday p.m. commute. We anticipate that the p.m. commute will come with slowdowns and headaches. So plan ahead!

The snow will taper through the evening before exiting into the overnight hours. When all is said and done, most will end up with 2-4″ of snow. This will be the story through much of Central Indiana. Less snow likely further NW but more possible south and southeast. Those spots could approach 5.0″ in spots.

This will continue what has been a busy winter season for Central Indiana. Since October 1st, Indianapolis has 12.0″ of snow under its belt. Compared to last year’s 2.2″ to date, we have 10″ more snow overall. It’s the most snow to date in 11 years. A typical season (October 1st to May 1st) sees 25.5″ for Indianapolis.

Cold (and more snow) follow

The cold temperatures aren’t going anywhere following Friday’s snow. High temperatures in the 20s will be around through the weekend. We’ll “peak” with highs near 30° Sunday ahead of a frontal boundary. This clipper system could bring some snow showers Sunday night into Monday but those chances are low. If any snow were to occur, amounts would be low.

That will pass through late Sunday into Monday which will give us our next cold blast. Temperatures will tumble during the day Monday setting the stage for more cold. Highs in the teens on Tuesday and Wednesday as we remain dry. Lows in the single digits with subzero wind chills are also likely.