3 key Trump policies teed up for Supreme Court action
Controversial Trump administration policies on the census, asylum seekers and the border wall, held illegal by lower courts, are on the Supreme Court’s agenda Friday.
American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana
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Protester who lost eye due to tear gas sues Fort Wayne, police for excessive force
A Fort Wayne man who lost his eye during a Black Lives Matter protest after the death of George Floyd is now suing the city and local police department for excessive force and violation of his First Amendment rights.
AG Hill appeals ruling striking ‘abortion complications’ reporting statute
A district court ruling that struck down a Hoosier abortion law requiring the reporting of “abortion complications” has been appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announced.
Indiana police to stop blocking roads during executions
Indiana State Police agreed Friday to stop blocking roads to the federal prison in Terre Haute where federal executions resumed last month and are set to continue, backing down after anti-death penalty activists said in a lawsuit the roadblocks impeded their free speech rights.
Jackson County asks 7th Circuit to allow Christmas Nativity scene display
The legal battle over the constitutionality of a Jackson County Christmas display on public property is continuing in federal court, with advocates for a Nativity scene urging the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court injunction.
Protesters restricted from Terre Haute execution site sue ISP
Protesters kept away from the federal prison in Terre Haute during executions last month have filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing the Indiana State Police violated their First Amendment rights by erecting roadblocks and preventing them from holding vigils immediately outside the entrance of the facility.
Court strikes Indiana ‘abortion complications’ reporting law
A federal judge has struck down another Indiana abortion law as unconstitutional, continuing a years-long streak of court action against Hoosier abortion legislation. However, the state also secured a victory when the same judge upheld a requirement that abortion clinics be inspected annually.
Federal court blocks Indiana panhandling law
In an order that noted Americans exercising their First Amendment rights against racial inequality and quoting Frederick Douglass on the sacred right of free speech, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday preventing Indiana’s new panhandling law from taking effect Wednesday.
Fort Wayne protesters sue police for ‘violent and inappropriate actions’
Protesters claiming Fort Wayne law enforcement fired teargas canisters, flashbang grenades and rubber bullets into peaceful demonstrations filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court seeking to stop the use of chemical agents and projectiles.
Inmates seek prison release due to COVID-19
Almost immediately after the coronavirus reached the United States, criminal justice advocates sounded the alarm on behalf of the incarcerated. Inmates in county jails, state prisons and federal penitentiaries are at a higher risk of contracting the virus, advocates say, simply because of the nature of their living conditions. The result of release efforts has been a mixed bag.
ACLU calls on Hogsett to reduce funding for police in Indianapolis
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is calling on Mayor Joe Hogsett to “reimagine” the role of police in Indianapolis and shift funding away from law enforcement into community-based initiatives.
Jackson County Courthouse Nativity scene violates First Amendment, judge rules
A Nativity scene displayed on the lawn of the Jackson County Courthouse violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, a federal judge has ruled, entering an injunction prohibiting the county’s as-is display of the Christian Christmas scene.
ACLU seeks info on COVID-19 risk in jails and prisons
Highlighting new epidemiological models that show as many as 200,000 inmates could die from COVID-19, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has joined the ACLU National, the ACLU Foundation and more than 30 affiliates in filing public records requests to get information about coronavirus outbreaks in prisons and jails.
Cass County clamps down with big jump in virus cases
A northern Indiana county where a coronavirus outbreak prompted the closure of a Tyson Foods meatpacking plant imposed tighter restrictions Monday on who can enter retail businesses.
Indiana reports 1st death of prison guard with coronavirus
Indiana’s prison system has reported the first death of a guard after contracting the coronavirus. Gary Weinke died Saturday from COVID-19 complications and had last worked at the prison on March 29, the agency said.
ACLU sues to block new Indiana panhandling law
A new Indiana law that effectively bans panhandling in downtown areas effective July 1 is being challenged in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which claims that in addition to panhandlers, it and other organizations whose members personally collect donations would be broadly banned from doing so under the new law.
Justices deny ACLU petition to release inmates amid COVID-19
Indiana Supreme Court justices have denied a petition from the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana inviting the high court to engage in emergency rulemaking to facilitate the release of Hoosier inmates at risk for contracting COVID-19.
AG Hill: Supreme Court lacks authority to order release of DOC inmates
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to decline a request to use its rulemaking authority to order the release of inmates vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
ACLU: Indiana virus directive should not restrict abortions
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s directive calling for all Indiana health care facilities to cancel or postpone non-urgent surgical procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic should not restrict the ability of women to obtain abortions, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana said Wednesday.
ACLU of Indiana petitions to release inmates at risk for coronavirus
An emergency petition submitted Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is requesting immediate action from the Indiana Supreme Court to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the Indiana Department of Correction and Indiana’s county jails.