Indiana Court Decisions: July 28-Aug. 10, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
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Marquez: What is the cost of cybersecurity? Often, convenience
With every decision come factors we must prioritize to better guide us in making choices that align with what we value most. In terms of technology investments, these factors often boil down to security, convenience and cost.
‘I’m really happy that I’m not an in-house counsel’: Lifted injunctions alter IN abortion laws even as Legislature passes ban
In the weeks leading up to the Indiana General Assembly’s special legislative session — as well as during the time lawmakers were in their Statehouse chambers drafting a new bill — Indiana’s abortion laws changed. Not in the sense of new legislation, but in the reality that old laws on the books could be enforced after years-old injunctions blocking them in federal courts were lifted.
Macchia: Mental health at work: Flagging key issues for employers
While recent events have contributed to and exacerbated this problem, the presence of mental health issues in the workplace existed long before the beginning of a global pandemic. Despite that fact, employers still at times simply do not know how to confront and handle mental health issues.
Maurer: In Roe decision, justice tainted high court
Let’s focus on one man, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who besmirched the very institution on which he serves by misleading Maine Sen. Susan Collins and the American people about his determination to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Townsend: WOTCs can increase diversity, reduce labor shortages
In a tight labor market with diversity, equity and inclusion front of mind, some employers have expanded their outreach to prospective employees under the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).
Kilies and Simonton: Employee protections after Bostock
Employers likely remember Bostock v. Clayton County, the landmark decision where the Supreme Court of the United States extended Title VII’s “because of sex” protections to sexual orientation and transgender status. In that case, the Supreme Court made clear that it is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for employers to terminate employees for being gay or transgender but left open some questions.
Web Exclusive: COVID-19 vaccine mandate concerns nearly ‘moot’ for Indiana employers
After more than two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Indianapolis employment attorney Melissa Macchia predicts that if the issue of vaccine mandates is not moot at this point for employers, it’s close.
Op-ed: Providing legal representation to children in the welfare system
There is one area of law where the state of Indiana may intrude into your life, remove you from your home and place you in a private locked facility, all without providing an opportunity to consult with an attorney: our child welfare system.
Interim IU Maurer dean Ochoa takes reins of law school
While it’s true the position isn’t permanent, an interim dean isn’t just a placeholder. The interim dean is, in fact, the dean of the law school, taking on the authority of the most influential leadership position at the school. Such is the current case at Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington.
Workplace unrest: Uptick in union membership seen as reflecting shift in workers’ attitudes
Just as Indiana is marking 10 years since the passage of its “right-to-work” law, more Hoosiers are opting to join unions, and a Starbucks in Clarksville recently became the first in the coffeehouse chain to unionize in the Hoosier State.
Help wanted: Positions still unfilled as legal aid struggles to find attorneys
Legal aid agencies across the state are struggling to find and hire attorneys to fill full-time staff positions. Providers speculate that lower bar passage rates and high demand for lawyers across the legal profession have created a supply issue.
Breaking down to break through: Judges share how they cope with emotional, traumatic exposure
The American Bar Association’s 2020 National Judicial Stress and Resiliency Survey of more than 1,000 judges nationwide, including Hoosier judges, revealed new data about what stressors judges face, how those stressors affect them personally and strategies the judiciary can use to mitigate them.
Federal, local defendants file motions to dismiss Clay County Jail lawsuit
Federal and local defendants in a case brought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees at the Clay County Jail are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the jail’s relationship with federal immigration authorities.
Plaintiff presses for release of advisory opinion regarding AG Rokita’s private employment
Declaring Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is attempting to use the state’s open records law as both a shield and a sword, an Indianapolis woman is asking a federal court to make public an agency opinion about the top Hoosier lawyer’s private-sector job he kept when he entered elected office.
7th Circuit affirms robbery provisions added to man’s sentence for illegal gun possession
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the application of a robbery guideline provision used in sentencing a man for illegally possessing a firearm after finding that the gun was also involved in a robbery he committed earlier that day.
7th Circuit declines to grant prisoner’s limited remand request on crediting issue
A prisoner seeking to remedy the reimposition of his original restitution order, which excluded hundreds of dollars he had already paid towards it, was denied his request on Monday after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded he would receive credit for the amount one way or another.
Feds oppose unsealing affidavit for Mar-a-Lago warrant
The Justice Department on Monday rebuffed efforts to make public the affidavit supporting the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s estate in Florida, saying the investigation “implicates highly classified material” and the document contains sensitive information about witnesses.
Evansville house explosion victims died of trauma, asphyxia
Preliminary autopsy results released Monday for the three victims of a house explosion in a southern Indiana neighborhood show they died of blunt force trauma and compression asphyxia.
Starbucks asks labor board to halt union votes temporarily
Starbucks on Monday asked the National Labor Relations Board to temporarily suspend all union elections at its U.S. stores, citing allegations from a board employee that regional NLRB officials improperly coordinated with union organizers.