Indiana House backs abolishing all township assessor offices
The Indiana House has voted to eliminate the last remaining township assessor offices around the state.
Allen County
Articles
COA affirms for grandchildren in trust property distribution dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed for more than a dozen grandchildren in their fight to secure heirship in the distribution of trust property.
New pretrial release rule adds risk assessments for booked inmates
A new Indiana rule requiring that booked inmates be assessed to determine risks or benefits of releasing them before trial is expected to eventually reduce overcrowding at the state’s county jails, criminal justice officials say. Criminal Rule 26, which set Indiana’s new pretrial release protocols, was adopted by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2017, but it didn’t take effect statewide until Jan. 1.
Tippecanoe Co. prosecutor to lead prosecutors’ association
Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington will serve as president of the Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Inc. in 2020 following his recent election to the post.
Allen Superior Court names Trevino next chief judge
The Allen Superior Court’s Board of Judges has elected Judge Andrea R. Trevino to serve as the court’s next chief judge. Trevino’s two-year term begins Jan. 1, 2020.
IU Health, nonparties entitled to attorney fees in blogger dispute
More than $250,000 in attorney fees and costs have been awarded to numerous nonparties and an Indiana healthcare giant against Lutheran Health Network in Fort Wayne after the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the nonparties were entitled to seek the fees to recoup costs associated with tracking down a harassing blogger.
Supreme Court lifts another suspension against Fort Wayne attorney
A Fort Wayne attorney facing multiple disciplinary actions has had his suspension in one of those actions terminated, though he remains ineligible to practice law in Indiana.
Allen County annexation, tax dispute back at COA
An annexation dispute over allocation of tax dollars is back before the Indiana Court of Appeals, which this time could resolve the merits question of whether a city or a fire district is entitled to the disputed tax revenues.
Justices certify 4 new senior judges
The Indiana Supreme Court has certified four judicial officers as new senior judges for the upcoming year.
Indiana man gets 87 years in fatal shooting of Fort Wayne barber
A Fort Wayne man convicted of fatally shooting a barber he had argued with during a haircut has been sentenced to more than 87 years in prison. An Allen County judge sentenced 34-year-old James L. Dodson Jr. on Monday to the maximum term of 87 ½ years allowed under his murder and criminal recklessness convictions.
Indiana man files wrongful death suit over his son’s death
The father of a 2-year-old Fort Wayne boy fatally beaten in 2017 is suing the child’s mother and her former boyfriend over his son’s death.
Fort Wayne man gets suspended sentence for molesting 2 teens
A Fort Wayne man who once faced 13 charges related to child molesting has avoided time in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Justices reverse grant of transfer in teen murder case following oral arguments
Just hours after hearing oral arguments on the merits in a murder case from 2000, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed its decision to assume jurisdiction over the case.
Justices to hear arguments in juvenile murder case
The Indiana Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Thursday in a decades-old murder case considering whether the defendant was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to present mitigating evidence about his mental illness at the time of the crime.
Indiana man convicted in April slaying of barbershop owner
A man arrested last spring in Mississippi in the fatal shooting of a Fort Wayne barber has been convicted in that slaying.
Judgment for hospital affirmed in blood draw after drunken-driving crash
A man who was seriously injured in a car crash lost his appeal claiming his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when Fort Wayne hospital staff ordered a blood draw that was provided to police, leading to criminal drunken driving charges.
Convicted molester loses appeal over barred internet search history
A man convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting his 11-year-old daughter failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that evidence of sexual internet searches he attributed to the victim was wrongly excluded from his trial.
Holcomb appoints 3 to ICJI board of trustees
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb appointed three new members to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Board of Trustees last week.
Stakeholders praise pretrial reforms at statewide summit
Across Indiana, 44 local jails are currently at capacity. But if half of all pretrial detainees were released, that number would fall to 11. A key lawmaker used that statistic Friday to demonstrate the possible benefits in Indiana’s efforts to release low-level, low-risk offenders as an alternative to cash bail.
Fort Wayne officer won’t be charged in man’s fatal shooting
A Fort Wayne police officer who fatally shot a man after a police chase won’t face charges in the shooting. The driver was fatally shot May 22 after a police chase ended when he crashed his car.