The murder conviction against the man found guilty of killing Indiana University student Jill Behrman has been reinstated after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that his counsel was deficient, but not prejudicial.
The deaths of Daniel Lewis Lee, Wesley Ira Purkey and Dustin Honken roused the anger of civil liberties lawyers, who say the executions were carried out in a rushed and even unlawful manner. The overarching question in public discussion has been “why” — why did Attorney General William Barr make the executions a priority? And why were they carried out while the country was dealing with a pandemic, racial unrest and a looming election?
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday granted an Indiana business’ petition for writ of mandamus, finding that the Southern Indiana District Court deviated substantially from the course of decision‐making mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court when it transferred the business’ action back to a California court.
Applications are being accepted through Aug. 10 for a pending vacancy in the bankruptcy court for the Northern District of Indiana in South Bend.
Following two dismissals from the Indiana Southern District Court, the four women who have accused Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill of sexual misconduct are taking their claims for battery, defamation and invasion of privacy to state court.
At a time when the American criminal justice system is under the most intense scrutiny of most of our lives, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling allowing the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee was slap in the face of the victims’ family members who opposed it and a bizarre, out-of-touch, wholly mean-spirited form of justice.
The federal government last week carried out its first executions in almost two decades after the US Supreme Court in separate 5-4 rulings turned away last-minute appeals from two condemned inmates’ legal teams. Their executions, and that of a third defendant, were carried out by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute.
An injunction prohibiting the state government from prosecuting certain uses of smokable hemp has been lifted after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the prohibition was overbroad. But when the smoke clears, the appellate panel said a revised injunction may still be appropriate.
I’m still processing the news that this morning my court-appointed death-row client, Wesley Purkey, was executed. I was his pro bono counsel on three civil-rights/conditions of confinement claims in the Southern District of Indiana. So as I wrestle now — and hopefully for some time — with the legal and moral aspects of capital punishment that otherwise have been remote, it seems appropriate and timely to discuss the needs and opportunities for pro bono service in civil cases in our local federal courts. Both are robust.
A lease dispute between the majority and minority owners of Chicago-area rail switch carrier Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad was properly dismissed, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Failure to follow local court rules led to defeat for a would-be developer suing the city of Indianapolis, an outcome upheld Wednesday by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s conviction, rejecting his argument that the record doesn’t show that the statements read to him from a card produced by police satisfy his Miranda warnings.
A judge on Wednesday halted the execution of a man said to be suffering from dementia, who had been set to die by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute in the federal government’s second execution after a 17-year hiatus.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed habeas corpus relief granted to a man in a disputed search case where police opened a locked box full of illegal drugs while executing an arrest warrant.
A man who repeatedly sought six-figure tax refunds from the IRS based on sovereign-citizen-style claims lost his appeal of a three-year sentence and an order that he repay nearly $150,000.
An injunction prohibiting the state government from prosecuting certain uses of smokable hemp has been lifted after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the prohibition was overbroad. But when the smoke clears, the appellate panel said a revised injunction may still be appropriate.
Diane Sykes, who has often been mentioned as a possible nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, has become the chief judge of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, assuming the leadership position July 5.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
An Indiana prisoner whose discipline conviction was overturned for lack of evidence did not persuade the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that his case manager later retaliated against him for activity protected by the First Amendment.
A man convicted in a drug conspiracy could not convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that he pleaded guilty to a lesser amount than what the government indicted him for.