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State submits SCOTUS brief in pro se case

Trial courts should be able to deny criminal defendants the right to represent themselves when that person can’t communicate coherently with the court or jury, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office wants the nation’s highest court to decide.The state submitted a brief this week to the Supreme Court of the United States, which will hear arguments March 26 in the Hoosier-based pro se case of Indiana v. Ahmad Edwards, No. 07-208. You can view the 74-page brief online here.Dating to July 1999,…

Judge: ‘I didn’t lie …’: Marion Superior jurist faces disciplinary panel

Marion Superior Judge Grant W. Hawkins is used to spending his days in court. But on Oct. 6 and 7, he wasn’t on the bench; the jurist was the one being judged. Already, his former part-time commissioner has resigned and been permanently banned from any judicial role because of this issue, and Judge Hawkins is battling 11 misconduct charges against him that could mean his judicial career is on the line. But before he finds out his fate, the judge is…

Legal aid to benefit from restaurant sales

Hungry diners in Lafayette can help raise money for the Legal Aid Corporation of Tippecanoe County. Arni's restaurant in Market Square Shopping Center, 2200 Elmwood Ave., will donate a portion of its sales from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 16 to the legal aid organization. Diners must mention Legal Aid to their server to ensure the donation.

SCOTUS upholds Indiana voter ID law

Indiana’s law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot is constitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning.The nation’s high court issued its decision at 10 a.m. on the pair of consolidated cases, William Crawford, et al. v. Marion County Election Board, et al., No. 07-21, and Indiana Democratic Party, et al. v. Todd Rokita, No. 07-25. The decision comes just a week prior to Indiana’s primary on May 6, upholding the strictest voter ID law in the…

Judge: Attorney can’t sue using pseudonym

A Northern District magistrate judge has again denied an attorney's motion to proceed with a lawsuit under a pseudonym, finding the type of injury the attorney may suffer as a result of suit doesn't rise to the level to justify anonymity.

COA says how to admit DNA testing analysis

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a defendant’s convictions of child molesting and used the opinion to establish how documents explaining the underlying analysis of DNA testing may be admitted at a criminal trial.In hearing the appeal of Richard Pendergrass v. State of Indiana, No. 71A03-0712-CR-588, the appellate court discovered after a thorough review of caselaw that there was no precedent in place to establish the admittance at a criminal trial of those documents. Richard Pendergrass appealed his child molesting convictions, arguing…

Lawmakers pick summer study topics

State lawmakers have announced what topics they’ll explore before the 2009 legislative term begins.On tap: immigration, administrative law judge powers, Indiana’s alcoholic beverage laws, and a variety of other legal issues.The Indiana Legislative Council Thursday created multiple new interim study commissions that will meet this summer. What they recommend helps set the stage for the next session. Legislative leaders will appoint lawmakers to the panels in coming weeks, and most must make recommendations to the General Assembly by Nov. 1.One of…

Court allows relief under Crime Victims Statute

Contract provisions that exempt a party from liability under the Indiana Crime Victims Statute are void when the party violates public policy, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday. In The State Group Industrial (USA) Unlimited v. Murphy & Associates Industrial Services, No. 82A04-0703-CV-158, State Group appealed the trial court judgment denying the company’s request for relief under Indiana Code 34-24-3-1, the Crime Victims Statute. The trial court awarded State Group actual damages, but denied relief under the statute based on a…

Law student runs for human rights: IU Law – Indianapolis organization recipient of 3L’s fundraising efforts

The International Human Rights Law Society at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis will have more money to work with now than its $375 budget from the beginning of the school year, thanks to the organization’s vice president. The IHRLS is the student group that has researched, written, and presented shadow reports to experts for the United Nations Human Rights Council. Funds for the organization bring international human rights experts to speak at the school, present movie nights that are…

Nominees sought for Indianapolis civic award

The Indianapolis Mayor’s Office is currently accepting nominations for the Charles L. Whistler Award.The award is named after a Baker & Daniels senior partner, Whistler, who gave his time and abilities to the Indianapolis community. At the time of his death in 1981, he was chairman of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee’s Urban Growth and Revitalization Task Force, and the White River State Park Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Nominations are open to anyone in Indianapolis except currently appointed government employees and public…

Professor entitled to unemployment benefits

University professors who do not have their fixed-termed contracts renewed after the contract expires are entitled to unemployment benefits because their resulting unemployment isn’t voluntary, ruled the Indiana Supreme Court Tuesday. In Indiana State University v. William C. LaFief, et al., No. 93S02-0801-EX-17, William LaFief was hired by Indiana State University as an assistant professor for one academic year and was reappointed for the following year. After his second academic year at the university, LaFief was told by the school he would…

Restitution continues beyond probation period

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed today that trial courts must inquire about a defendant’s ability to pay when they order restitution as a condition of probation or a suspended sentence and a restitution obligation continues beyond the end of a probationary period. However, in Jeffrey Pearson v. State of Indiana, No. 45S03-0712-CR-574, the high court affirmed the trial court’s order for Pearson to pay at least $150 a month in restitution as a condition of his probation even though the trial court…

Lawyers assist vets; benefit Feb. 29

Veterans of Valor, an organization to assist injured veterans and supported by a number of Indianapolis attorneys, will sponsor a fundraiser and open house Feb. 29 in Greenwood.The event will feature a presentation of the organization’s recently released Web site, www.veteransofvalor.org, as well as information about different ways to get involved.The organization is seeking volunteers who can make a long-term commitment and those who only have enough time to help with short-term projects. Because the organization is relatively new, there are…

Indiana: ‘model’ for judicial accountability

A national watchdog group has ranked Indiana seventh in the nation for how it holds its state and federal judges accountable.The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan organization HALT, Inc. – Help Abolish Legal Tyranny – gave the Hoosier state’s program a “C+” on its report card, which it claims is the first study of its kind in the nation. Both Indiana and Nevada received the 7th-place ranking. A press release about the state’s ranking cited Indiana as “exemplary” in some respects including…

COA: Offender residency law not OK

The Indiana Court of Appeals today upheld a lower court’s ruling that the state’s law prohibiting violent and child sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school or public area where children congregate is unconstitutional.The ruling came in State of Indiana v. Anthony W. Pollard, No. 05A02-0707-CR-640. Judges heard arguments in the case March 31. The state argued that Indiana Code Section 35-42-4-11 was not considered ex post facto law as applied to Pollard, but the appeals court disagreed and…

Chief public defender delays departure

Expect to see David E. Cook’s face at the Marion County Public Defender Agency a little longer than anticipated.The chief public defender is delaying for a month his departure – originally planned for Feb. 15 – to help make sure the agency has adequate leadership while its board of directors searches for a successor. Cook is stepping down after 12 years as the county’s top public defender to work for immigration firm Gresk & Singleton in Indianapolis.Because the agency needed leadership…

Supreme Court travels to IU-Bloomington

The Indiana Supreme Court will be in Bloomington Thursday to hear arguments in a case involving a dispute between a landlord and his former tenants.

No summary judgment in mailbox case

The owners of a mailbox struck by a woman's car that left the road inexplicably aren't entitled to summary judgment on the woman's negligence claim, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed today.