Year in Review: In 2019, troubles dominated legal news
When those in the legal community look back at 2019, they may turn their heads and look forward instead. While the year had bright spots, several sordid sagas dominated the headlines.
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Web Exclusive: Attorneys reflect on old, new holiday traditions
As 2019 draws to a close, Indiana lawyers and their families are celebrating the holiday season in numerous ways. Some enjoy traditional meals, gather for merriment or take care to make others feel welcomed and loved. Here are six Hoosier attorneys who shared their most memorable traditions during the winter season.
Panel recommends adopting Uniform Bar Exam to enhance fairness, reliability
With Indiana already incorporating two components from the Uniform Bar Examination into its own attorney admittance test, a study commission formed to review and recommend changes to state’s bar exam is advocating Indiana pick up the remaining component and transition completely to the UBE. But three commission members cautioned against the move, saying the state would be relinquishing control of its own test.
Justices agree to hear extended expungement-wait case
Indiana Supreme Court justices have agreed to hear a case that sharply divided an appellate panel concerning whether minor felonies reduced to misdemeanor convictions should trigger new five-year waiting periods for individuals seeking a criminal expungement.
7th Circuit largely affirms for law enforcement in Carmel ‘pill mill’ case
Law enforcement who charged physicians and staff in an Indiana pill mill investigation will not face a suit from the cleared defendants, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, with the exception of an employee who worked as a parking lot attendant.
Former ‘America’s Most Wanted’ suspect can’t sue Mexican prison in US
A former fugitive arrested in Mexico after his case alleging a scheme to defraud the US military was profiled on the former Fox Network television series “America’s Most Wanted” cannot sue authorities at a Mexican prison where he claims he was tortured.
Indiana senator wants to expand Southern District bench
Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young is pushing his colleagues on Capitol Hill to authorized additional judgeships to the Southern Indiana District Court, something they have not done since 1978.
Elkhart family files negligence lawsuit in mother’s death
The children of a woman who was fatally shot by a fellow resident of a northern Indiana apartment complex are suing the apartment’s management company, alleging that it failed to protect their mother from the gunman despite knowing of his “peculiar and abhorrent behavior.”
Man fatally shot by Evansville police
A southern Indiana man was fatally shot by a police officer over the weekend after refusing to drop a handgun, police said
NIPSCO paying $1 million fine over hiring complaint
A major Indiana utility company has agreed to pay a $1 million fine in settling a federal complaint that it discriminated against some 1,500 female or black job applicants.
McConnell not ruling out witnesses in impeachment trial
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that he was not ruling out calling witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial — but indicated he was in no hurry to seek new testimony either — as lawmakers remain at an impasse over the form of the trial by the GOP-controlled Senate.
Appellate court: Minor not ‘Indian child’ under ICWA
A father who argued his daughter was an Indian child under federal law during a termination of parental rights battle lost his appeal of the termination Monday, when the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a ruling finding that the child’s tribe was not registered with the United States government.
COA vacates contempt finding in domestic battery case
Double jeopardy concerns led the Indiana Court of Appeals to vacate a contempt finding against a man facing a domestic battery charge, though his related domestic battery sentence was upheld.
‘Ministerial exception’ discovery motion fails in lawsuit against Indianapolis Archdiocese
A motion in a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Archdiocese to limit discovery to the question of whether a fired gay counselor falls under the First Amendment’s “ministerial exception” has been defeated in “close call” in Indiana federal court.
Public comments sought on proposed changes to bar exam
With a special study commission having finished its review and submitted its recommendations for updating the Indiana Bar Exam, the Indiana Supreme Court is now asking for public comment about the proposed changes.
Holcomb opts in to accepting refugees
Gov. Eric Holcomb is giving the green light for federal officials to continue placing refugees in Indiana, following in the footsteps of a growing group of both Democratic and Republican governors who are opting in to the federal program. The move comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in September that, for the first time, required states and local government to provide written consent to continue to receive even a handful of the 26 million refugees worldwide.
Inside impeachment: How an ‘urgent’ tip became ‘high crimes’
By the time lawmakers streamed into the House chamber last Wednesday to vote on impeachment for just the third time in American history, each side was more hardened in its belief that it was in the right. This account of how they got there is based on interviews with 21 people directly involved in the matter.
Well-known Catholic educator charged in cafeteria incident
An administrator at a Catholic high school in Indianapolis has been charged with a misdemeanor in a dispute with a 14-year-old student in the cafeteria. Students told police that Bob Tully of Roncalli High School put a choke hold on a student during a dispute over a food spill on Dec. 6.
South Bend OKs random inspections for body camera footage
A new policy adopted in the wake of a black man’s fatal shooting by a white South Bend police officer calls for random inspections of officers’ body camera footage and for officers to state a reason before they end a recording.
Pair could face new charges in Tippecanoe County neglect case
Prosecutors are looking to file four additional charges against an Indiana couple accused of abandoning their adopted daughter. Michael and Kristine Barnett, who were charged in September with two counts of neglect of a dependent, now possibly face six to 20 years in prison if convicted.