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A prevailing perception that family courts are biased against men lingers, including in Indiana. Fathers’ rights groups across the country do not have a laundry list of specific things they want, but they are advocating for the more general position of equal treatment in the family courts. A Statehouse bill would take a step in that direction.
Current federal and state law generally defers to a parent’s judgment when it comes to grandparent visitation, with the United States Supreme Court ruling that the right to rear a child as desired is among the most fundamental rights of parents. But a bill filed this year in the Indiana Legislature would give both grandparents and great-grandparents another avenue to obtain standing to petition for visitation.
President Donald Trump will argue to the nation Tuesday night that a “crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border requires the long and invulnerable wall he’s demanding before ending a partial government shutdown that has hundreds of thousands of federal workers fearing missed paychecks on Friday.
A recent study examined 12 separate legal services agencies around Indiana and calculated the organizations’ social return on investment. The group dug into the financials for the year 2017 and concluded that for every $1 invested in Indiana legal aid that year, the state received $6.70 in immediate and long-term financial benefits.
Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are renewing their attempt to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s job, sending a signal to President Donald Trump as he keeps up his criticism of Mueller’s Russia investigation.
The Coalition for Court Access recently launched the website Indianalegalhelp.org. Now, Hoosiers needing help with a divorce, child custody issue, eviction or other civil legal problems have a new place to find answers and additional resources without having to make a phone call, schedule an appointment or even drive to a courthouse.
The advent of electronic filing has changed the way Hoosier attorneys do business. Tasks that once required lawyers and their staffs to sift through Bankers Boxes and drive to courthouses can now be completed with just a few keystrokes. As of the end of 2018, 85 of Indiana’s 92 counties had implemented voluntary e-filing, with many of those counties now requiring attorneys to file at least some documents electronically.
The requirement that alcohol permit holders live in the state where they do business is based on the simple notion that neighbors care more about the well-being of their communities than out-of-towners do. But a Tennessee case challenging that notion in the U.S. Supreme Court could spill over on similar Indiana laws.
A Gary city councilwoman has been ordered to reimburse the Gary Sanitary District more than $132,000 in wages for the time she illegally held two municipal positions simultaneously, and the Indiana Attorney General has begun efforts to secure the reimbursement.
The Indiana Supreme Court has issued new guidance on how long courts are required to maintain files related to tax sales and expungements in their offices. The court also updated Indiana's Administrative Rules to reflect the abolishment of two town courts.
The priorities for Indiana House Republicans this year align with Gov. Eric Holcomb’s agenda, but one significant issue did not make the list: a hate crimes bill.
Indiana’s petition for a review of its 2016 abortion law is still pending at the Supreme Court of the United States after the justices relisted the Hoosier state’s writ of certiorari for this Friday’s conference. The state is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of a law that limits when a woman may terminate her pregnancy and mandates how fetal remains should be handled.
With the start of the 116th Congress, Indiana’s two remaining federal judicial nominees have stalled and the vacancies in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana continue. However, Indiana’s senior senator expressed confidence they will come back to Capitol Hill.
The chief federal judge in Washington has extended the term of the grand jury used by special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The extension by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell is the latest sign the Mueller probe will continue for at least the next several months.
The Supreme Court is plunging back into the issue of whether electoral districts can be too partisan. Disputes have arisen in cases involving North Carolina’s heavily Republican congressional map and a Democratic congressional district in Maryland, and the justices said Friday they will hear arguments in March.
The mayor of Elkhart has named a new permanent replacement for a police chief who resigned under fire. Mayor Tim Neese on Friday named 21-year police veteran Chris Snyder to replace Ed Windbigler, who resigned Dec. 10.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of J.K., Child in Need of Services and C.K. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
18A-JC-1698
Juvenile CHINS. Reverses and remands the Randolph Circuit Court’s adjudication of J.K. as a child in need of services. Finds the trial court erred when it denied mother C.K.’s motion to dismiss the CHINS petition because too many days passed between the filing of the petition and the court’s hearing. Remands for the trial court to dismiss the CHINS petition without prejudice.
A federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration Friday in a case about the Pentagon’s effort to restrict military service by transgender people, but the ruling won’t change who can serve or enlist at this point.
A Grant County couple must now abide by a Department of Natural Resources order to bring a dam into compliance with the Dam Safety Act following a divided Indiana Supreme Court decision that affirmed the order’s enforcement.
Although Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said he hopes to have the General Assembly’s sexual harassment policy finalized by the end of next week, he’s not sure if that’s possible.