Michael W. Hoskins

The public defender system in St. Joseph County could be up for an overhaul as soon as July.County officials have given a favorable recommendation to ordinances revamping the system, action that comes on the heels of a presentation by Circuit Judge Michael Gotsch earlier this week. If the county council approves the measures at its June 12 meeting, the changes would take effect for the second half of the year.Under the proposal, the county could hire 10 more public defenders, which…

Two parents challenging a new school-uniform policy in Anderson lost their legal battle in August after a federal judge dismissed the case. This week, parents Laura and Scott Bell have been ordered to pay attorneys’ fees and court costs of approximately $40,931 to defendants Anderson Community Schools and the board of trustees.U.S. District Judge John D. Tinder issued the order Thursday, recounting reasons for ruling in favor of the school district four months ago and issuing a note of caution for…

Indiana Court of Appeals Judge John T. Sharpnack has officially announced his last day will be May 3, 2008, and the process to appoint a successor will begin in the coming weeks.Judge Sharpnack plans to stay on with the appellate court as a senior judge following his leaving the bench, which comes just days before his 75th birthday and mandatory retirement. He is the second appellate judge in a year to leave the court; Judge Patrick D. Sullivan ended a 38-year…

Anyone wanting a taste of how Indiana Supreme Court justices decided on slavery issues in the late 19th century can travel to northern Indiana next week.On Aug. 25, a state historical marker is being dedicated in recognition of Graves et al v. Indiana, which stemmed from the 1847 capture of a fugitive slave in Bristol and a later justice of the peace ruling that freed the slave. An Elkhart Circuit judge convicted the three men the following year for causing a…

Gov. Mitch Daniels is now considering three finalists for a Lake County judicial seat left open by the March death of Superior Judge Robert Pete.The Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission selected the finalists out of 23 attorneys vying for the spot and sent those names to the governor Wednesday. Finalists are: Lake Superior Court Magistrate Kathleen M. Belzeski; Calvin D. Hawkins, a U.S. bankruptcy trustee and an attorney in Gary; and Christina J. Miller, a former Lake Circuit Court magistrate and…

The Indiana Court of Appeals determined a Marion County judge wrongly excluded evidence corroborating an Indianapolis man’s self-defense claim and has ordered a new trial on a voluntary-manslaughter charge.In Terrance Hood v. State of Indiana, No. 49A02-0703-CR-242, the appellate court reversed and remanded to Marion Superior Judge Tanya Walton Pratt’s courtroom a case involving an August 2005 shooting outside a liquor store.As Hood exited the store, a vehicle nearly crashed into him and he got into an argument with the driver. That…

Carmel has another appellate win on the issue of annexation after an Indiana Court of Appeals ruling today.The state’s second-highest appellate court decided that the city adequately proved it could afford to annex part of a nearby community into its municipal borders, and that a Hamilton County judge erred in auditing a financial plan and ruling in favor of the remonstrators.The unanimous decision in City of Carmel v. Certain Home Place Annexation Territory Landowners, No. 29A04-0510-CV-578, comes not even a month after…

The Marion County Juvenile Detention Facility has hit what some consider its lowest population in at least 12 years, evidence that a risk assessment tool implemented about two months ago is working. A new reception center may lower those numbers even more. Earlier this week, the Marion Superior Court announced the population was at 98 – below the facility cap of 144 that was often filled prior to the recent changes. The number had increased to about 118 on Wednesday but…

  The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will consider arguments Friday on whether sitting and prospective judges should be barred from responding to questionnaires or giving personal views about legal or political issues, and whether state judicial canons can be allowed to restrict that speech.Circuit judges will hear arguments at 9:30 a.m. Central Time in Indiana Right to Life v. Shepard, et al., No. 4:04-CV-0071, which U.S. District Judge Allen Sharp in Hammond ruled on Nov. 14. Judge Sharp granted a…

An Indiana Court of Appeals decision today grabs you with the first lines, setting the groundwork for an intriguing read whether you’re an attorney or not.”In this case of first impression, we balance the private rights of students and citizens against our schools’ need to identify individuals on school property in this post-Columbine world,” Judge Cale Bradford wrote. “More specifically, we are asked to determine whether a school police officer may conduct a pat-down search of a student on school grounds…

If a defendant doesn’t appear at a trial he or she knew about, a trial court can consider that a knowing and voluntary waiver of that person’s right to be present and to have counsel appear there, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.Justices ruled 3-2 in Carlos M. Jackson v. State of Indiana, No. 15S01-0609-CR-333, which involved a man found guilty of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and possession of an unlicensed handgun. Jackson was ordered to attend…