A decision today from the Supreme Court of the United States will have an immediate impact on Indiana, where state justices are considering at least two cases about whether lab technicians who've tested evidence in a case must appear on the stand.

The state's top executive has rejected the idea of scrapping merit selection in St. Joseph County, but it remains unclear whether lawmakers will attempt to override that veto during a special session.On the final day he had to take action, Gov. Mitch Daniels used his veto power for the third time this session and rejected House Enrolled Act 1491, which called for non-partisan elections to choose the county's eight Superior judges for six-year terms. It also called for the creation of...

The veteran federal prosecutor who's filled in three times as interim chief has been chosen for the permanent role as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, the White House announced this morning. David Capp, who's been a federal prosecutor for 24 years, has been the acting U.S. Attorney in the Northern District since July 2007, filling the spot after Joseph Van Bokkelen's confirmation to the District Court. Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh nominated Capp for the job from several...

A federal judge has sanctioned an Indianapolis law firm that employed a few attorneys he says helped abuse the discovery process, failed to correct misleading or false statements made by its client, and didn't properly turn over to the court or opposing counsel key documents relating to an environmental contamination case out of Southern Indiana.In a 66-page order issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney in the Southern District of Indiana determined that Bose McKinney & Evans should be sanctioned for...

Because the trial court may have made confusing remarks at a man's guilty plea hearing indicating he "may" have waived the right to appeal, only to later inform him of his right to appeal, the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded the defendant hadn't waived that right to appeal. The appellate court did affirm the defendant's 30-year advisory sentence for dealing in cocaine, finding he failed to prove it was inappropriate. In Luis Ruiz Bonilla v. State of Indiana, No. 20A05-0902-CR-85, the...

The Indiana Supreme Court released an order this afternoon suspending LaPorte Superior Judge Jennifer Koethe following her indictment on a charge of felony attempted obstruction of justice. Pursuant to Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 25(V)(A), the high court shall suspend a judge with pay if he or she is indicted on a felony charge. The suspension takes effect at midnight May 11 and will continue until further order of the court. As a result of Judge Koethe's suspension, the Supreme Court...

  The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to vote June 4 on U.S. Judge David Hamilton's nomination for the 7th Court of Appeals. The panel had postponed the vote originally planned for May 21 to give some members more time to review the judge's record. An agenda shows the executive business meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and be webcast live.

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Richard Givan has died, according to a news release from the court. He was 88. Justice Givan was elected to the court in 1968 and served continuously until his retirement in December 1994. He served as chief justice from November 1974 to March 1987. He received an LL.B. from Indiana University in 1951 and was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1952. A fourth generation lawyer, his great-grandfather, Noah S. Givan, was a circuit...

An Indianapolis attorney has received a public reprimand in the third and final leg of a yearlong disciplinary triangle, which has led to a Marion Superior judge's suspension and a commissioner's resignation and banishment from the bench.

Gov. Mitch Daniels has vetoed legislation that would have ended merit-selection of St. Joseph Superior judges and instead made them run for office in non-partisan elections and create a new three-judge panel for the Indiana Court of Appeals. On the deadline for action on House Enrolled Act 1491, the governor late this afternoon used his veto power for the third time this session and rejected it. The legislation would have called for non-partisan elections to choose the county's eight Superior judges...

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear arguments in three cases Thursday, including a suit in which a woman claims a casino took advantage of her gambling addiction. Arguments begin at 9 a.m. in Caesars Riverboat Casino LLC v. Genevieve Kephart, No. 31S01-0909-CV-303. Caesars originally filed a suit against Genevieve Kephart after she failed to repay a gambling debt. The casino sought repayment, treble damages, and attorney fees. But Kephart counterclaimed, arguing the casino unjustly enriched itself because it knew she had...

A panel of Indiana Court of Appeals judges disagreed today as to whether a man's convictions of attempted sexual misconduct with a minor and attempted dissemination of matter harmful to minors should be reversed because his intended victim was actually a police officer conducting an online sting operation.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has amended its Local Rule 65.2 - Motions for Preliminary Injunctions and Temporary Restraining Orders.

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's dismissal of a woman's claims against her former tenants, finding the court misinterpreted a previous appellate ruling to support the dismissal.

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the 17-year sentence for a woman convicted of prostituting her daughter, finding her sentence was appropriate and that an even longer sentence could be justified.

The Indiana Court of Appeals addressed an issue of first impression today regarding whether a person could seek to enforce rights under a vehicle purchasing agreement he didn't sign but then disavow other provisions set forth in the same document.

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed that the state's sex and violent offender registry doesn't violate the Indiana Constitution by requiring violent offenders to register for a 10-year period or for life.

The Indiana Supreme Court tackled the issue of the interaction of the statute of limitations provision under the state's Wrongful Death Act and the statute of limitations provision for an underlying substantive tort claim in two opinions released Dec. 24.

One of Indiana's most well-known pro se prisoner litigants continues to be a subject for the state's appellate courts.

A northern Indiana deputy prosecutor and soon-to-be LaPorte Superior judge was shot in her home late Monday night.

A convicted sex offender accused of failing to register will get a new trial, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.

The Indiana Supreme Court says the state's two-decade old law on pre-recorded, autodialed calls isn't limited to those placed to consumers with commercial messages. But justices stopped short of deciding how the law applies to political messages, leaving that question for another day.

A Muncie law firm will remain intact after both of its longtime partners take the bench in January.