Supreme Court Innovation Initiative adds Civil Litigation Taskforce
The Indiana Supreme Court’s Innovation Initiative is expanding, with the court creating a third working group to address issues surrounding civil litigation.
IL Staff
Articles
Former Whiting mayor who stole money to gamble avoids prison
A former Whiting mayor who pleaded guilty to charges that he spent about a quarter-million dollars in campaign funds to gamble and pay personal bills avoided prison on Wednesday when a federal judge ordered he be placed on two years’ probation and home detention for one year.
Indiana deans sign letter calling attack on Capitol a betrayal
The deans of two Indiana Law Schools have joined more than 150 of their colleagues from around the country in denouncing last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol as a betrayal of the Constitution’s core values.
New American Bar Foundation study details decline of jury trials
Fewer than one in 100 civil matters are decided by juries and less than 4% of criminal cases are, a new study from the American Bar Foundation reports, even as lawyers and judges agree that jury trials tend to be fairer than many alternatives.
FBI: Suspect targeted Indiana 7th Circuit Judge Hamilton, Rep. Carson
An Alabama man arrested near the U.S. Capitol after the rioting had a truckload of weapons, including components for 11 explosive devices, guns, smoke devices and machetes, along with a note containing information about an Indiana federal appellate judge and member of Congress from Indianapolis, prosecutors wrote in court documents Tuesday.
US executes first woman since 1953
A Kansas woman who briefly won a reprieve earlier this week from an Indiana federal judge was executed early Wednesday morning in Terre Haute for strangling an expectant mother in Missouri and cutting the baby from her womb. It was the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put to death a female inmate.
Rush scraps live State of the Judiciary, will offer video message due to COVID-19
The annual State of the Judiciary address will not be delivered in person to the Indiana General Assembly this year due to COVID-19, the Indiana Supreme Court has announced. Instead, Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush will submit a written report and video message.
Judge halts first US execution of female inmate in 67 years
An Indiana federal judge has halted the U.S. government’s first execution of a female inmate in nearly seven decades, saying a court must first determine whether the Kansas woman who killed an expectant mother, cut the baby from her womb and then tried to pass off the newborn as her own is mentally competent.
Supreme Court reinstates 2 lawyers, 1 conditionally
A northern Indiana lawyer with a lengthy criminal history has been conditionally readmitted to the practice of law in Indiana, as has a Louisville lawyer who has not been licensed in the Hoosier state for more than a decade.
Bill to ensure foster care subsidy for adoptive parents advances
Proposed legislation that would extend financial support to parents who adopt Hoosier children from foster care advanced in the Indiana Senate on Monday, with the bill’s sponsor hoping the bill’s third time will be the charm.
New county judges also presiding over former city, town courts
Former municipal court judges in Madison and Vigo counties who have been elected to their county trial court benches will continue to preside over their former dockets at least temporarily, the Indiana Supreme Court has ordered.
Supreme Court launches pretrial diversion pilot program
A pretrial pilot program aimed at preserving judicial resources has been launched in four Indiana counties. The pilot will allow prosecutors to offer pretrial diversion to defendants charged with a variety of low-level offenses.
Senior judges appointed following judicial illness, death
Senior judges are presiding over trial courts in two northern Indiana counties due to judicial vacancies resulting from the death of a judge and another’s inability to serve due for health reasons.
Trump finally faces reality amid talk of early ouster
With 12 days left in his term, President Donald Trump has finally bent to reality amid growing talk of trying to force him out early, acknowledging he’ll peacefully leave after Congress affirmed his defeat.
Indiana Bar Foundation condemns attack on Capitol
Saying the rights provided in the Constitution come with obligations, the Indiana Bar Foundation has issued a statement condemning Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.
Biden win confirmed after pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol
Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner early Thursday after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Trump in the White House.
Holcomb, after avoiding stance on GOP’s Biden challenge, condemns Capitol riot
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb declined to say Tuesday whether he supported efforts by some fellow Republicans in Congress to challenge Joe Biden’s election victory over President Donald Trump.
Bill would give lawmakers opportunity to weigh in on governor’s emergency order extensions
Nine months after Gov. Eric Holcomb first put Indiana under a public health emergency, a top Indiana House Republican has filed a bill that would require a special session before the governor could extend an emergency order beyond an initial 30 days.
Disciplinary Commission director Witte to retire
Longtime attorney discipline executive director G. Michael Witte will retire from his post, the Indiana Supreme Court has announced. Witte, a former trial court judge who has overseen the disciplinary commission for a decade, will step down next month.
Statehouses could prove to be hothouses for virus infection
As lawmakers around the U.S. convene this winter to deal with the crisis created by the pandemic, statehouses themselves could prove to be hothouses for infection.