Title: I J
v.
State of Indiana

State: indiana

Issuer: Indiana Supreme Court

Document:

I N  T H E  
Indiana Supreme Court 
Supreme Court Case No. 22S-JV-14 
I.J.,  
Appellant,  
–v– 
State of Indiana, 
Appellee.  
Decided: January 13, 2022 
Interlocutory Appeal from the Marion Superior Court 
Nos. 49D15-2007-JD-566, 49D15-2007-JD-591, 
49D15-2008-JD-678, & 49D15-2009-JD-737 
The Honorable Mark A. Jones, Judge, &  
The Honorable Ryan K. Gardner, Magistrate  
On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals  
No. 20A-JV-2293  
Per Curiam Opinion 
Chief Justice Rush and Justices David, Massa, and Goff concur. 
Justice Slaughter concurs in the judgment to dismiss the appeal as moot.  
 
FILED
C L E R K
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
Jan 13 2022, 11:25 am
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 22S-JV-14 | January 13, 2022 
Page 2 of 3 
Per curiam.  
The State filed petitions alleging I.J., a juvenile, to be delinquent. The 
juvenile court found I.J. was incompetent to have those petitions 
adjudicated and ordered that she receive competency-restoration services 
at Youth Opportunity Center (“YOC”), a residential treatment facility. I.J. 
took this discretionary interlocutory appeal, challenging the placement 
order. The Court of Appeals later implicitly acknowledged this appeal 
had become moot because I.J. had been released from YOC and the 
delinquency petitions dismissed without objection. But it declined the 
State’s request to dismiss the appeal as moot, and it affirmed the appealed 
order. I.J. v. State, 175 N.E.3d 837 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021), reh'g denied.  
While moot appeals ordinarily are dismissed, Indiana recognizes an  
exception that may be invoked when the appeal involves a question of 
great public importance that is likely to recur. T.W. v. St. Vincent Hosp. & 
Health Care Ctr., Inc., 121 N.E.3d 1039, 1042 (Ind. 2019). When appellate 
courts invoke this exception, it results in “decisions which are, for all 
practical purposes, advisory opinions.” Mosley v. State, 908 N.E.2d 599, 603 
(Ind. 2009) (cleaned up). We grant transfer, vacating the Court of Appeals 
opinion, and dismiss this appeal because the appeal is moot and we are 
not convinced the opinion correctly advises courts regarding competency-
related treatment before Indiana Code Chapter 31-37-26 (addressing 
competency in the delinquency context) takes effect on December 31, 2022.            
Rush, C.J., and David, Massa, and Goff, JJ., concur. 
Slaughter, J., concurs in the judgment to dismiss the appeal as moot.  
A TT O R N E YS F O R  AP P EL LA N T  
Valerie K. Boots 
Katelyn Bacon 
Marion County Public Defender Agency 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
 
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 22S-JV-14 | January 13, 2022 
Page 3 of 3 
A TT O R N E YS F O R  AP P EL LE E  
Theodore E. Rokita 
Attorney General of Indiana 
Jodi Kathryn Stein 
Deputy Attorney General  
Indianapolis, Indiana