2 charged in man’s fatal beating in Indiana forest face joint trial
Two men accused of beating a man to death with a pipe in a northern Indiana forest are facing a joint trial in April.
Associated Press
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Roberts: Judges working to promote civics, impartial courts
Federal judges are taking up the challenge to educate Americans about how their government works at a time when false information can spread instantaneously on social media, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Tuesday in his annual year-end report.
Appeal set on challenge to Indiana religious objections law
Conservative religious groups are planning to appeal an Indiana judge’s ruling that canceled a trial challenging limits on the state’s religious objections law that were signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence.
Illinois sees first legal sales of recreational marijuana
The sale of marijuana for recreational purposes became legal Wednesday in Illinois to the delight of pot fans — many who began lining up hours early at dispensaries. Meanwhile, legislative leaders in Indiana remain opposed to marijuana legalization in the Hoosier state.
Report: Fetal remains at abortion doctor’s properties can’t be ID’d
Shoddy record-keeping and the degraded condition of more than 2,400 fetal remains found in the Illinois garage and a car of a late Indiana abortion doctor mean those remains cannot be identified, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by Indiana’s attorney general.
IU testing license plate cameras for parking regulation
Indiana University has started a yearlong test of using license-plate-reading cameras for parking regulation on its Bloomington campus.
Groups want tougher U.S. Steel fine for Lake Michigan spill
The leaders of 18 environmental and civic groups have joined a push for U.S. Steel to face tougher penalties over a spill of hazardous substances from a northwestern Indiana plant into Lake Michigan.
LaPorte woman sentenced in sex trafficking of girl, 12
A northern Indiana woman will spend up to 39 years in prison in connection with the sex trafficking of a 12-year-old female relative.
Man badly wounded in Indianapolis police shooting
Indianapolis police officers shot a man early Saturday after he refused orders to drop a rifle, authorities said.
Legal marijuana sales may spark Midwest interstate tension
Retailers legally selling marijuana for the past month in Michigan say they have drawn customers from surrounding Midwestern states where the drug remains illegal and, as Illinois prepares to joins the recreational market on Wednesday, officials are renewing warnings to consumers against carrying such products over state lines.
Pulaski County eyes saving 125-year-old courthouse
A northern Indiana county’s 125-year-old courthouse will be saved from demolition and renovated as part of a $6 million preservation project.
Southern Indiana judge orders New Albany to release public records
A southern Indiana judge has ordered the city of New Albany to release public records sought by three residents who sued the city in a bid to force the records’ release. The judge’s Dec. 18 order states that the Ohio River city must provide public documents requested in August by the three Floyd County residents or be fined $50 per day if it doesn’t produce the records within 10 days.
Indiana woman gets 7 years for tampering with her son’s IV
A northwestern Indiana woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for injecting fecal matter into her teenage son’s IV line while he was hospitalized for leukemia.
AG opinion: Indiana gun rights restored after expungements
Indiana residents who’ve had felony convictions expunged from their criminal records are eligible, in most circumstances, to again buy and obtain a license to carry guns, according to an opinion from the state attorney general’s office.
Prosecutors: Deeply-in-debt Michael Avenatti sought payday
Prosecutors say high-profile California attorney Michael Avenatti was over $15 million in debt when he tried to extort up to $25 million from Nike, while Avenatti’s lawyers say the money he legally requested to conduct an internal probe of the sportswear giant was a bargain. Both sides made the assertions in court papers filed late Tuesday in advance of a Jan. 22 criminal trial in Manhattan.
To overcome travel ban, some Americans taking cases to court
Mohammed Hafar paced around the airport terminal — first to the monitor to check flight arrivals, then to the gift shop and lastly to the doors where international passengers were exiting. At last, out came Jana Hafar, his tall, slender, dark-haired teen daughter who had been forced by President Donald Trump’s travel ban to stay behind in Syria for months while her father, his wife and 10-year-old son started rebuilding their lives in Bloomfield, New Jersey, with no clear idea of when the family would be together again.
Roberts will tap his inner umpire in impeachment trial
America’s last prolonged look at Chief Justice John Roberts came 14 years ago, when he told senators during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing that judges should be like baseball umpires, impartially calling balls and strikes. His hair grayer, the 64-year-old Roberts will return to the public eye as he makes the short trip from the Supreme Court to the Senate to preside over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
2 judges back on bench following fight-related suspensions
Two southern Indiana judges are back on the bench after completing their suspensions for a downtown Indianapolis fight and double-shooting that followed a night of bar hopping. Clark Circuit Judge Brad Jacobs and Crawford Circuit Judge Sabrina Bell were reinstated to the bench Monday following 30-day suspensions that took effect Nov. 22.
Muncie mayor’s trial on federal charges delayed until May
A central Indiana mayor’s federal trial on charges of accepting a bribe has been pushed back for several months. Defense attorneys for Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler requested the delay on the trial that had been scheduled to start Jan. 21.
Judge allowing lawsuit over Lake Monroe logging to proceed
A judge is allowing a lawsuit to proceed against a property owner over logging activity on his land along southern Indiana’s Lake Monroe. The ruling by a Monroe County judge rejects an effort by property owner Joe Huff to have a lawsuit filed against him by county officials dismissed.