Immigration crackdown bill continues Indiana Republican split
A key state senator and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita are facing off again over what steps the state should take in cracking down on illegal immigration.
Attorney General
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Lawyers in the Legislature: Fewer attorneys in Statehouse but their expertise still valued
As the General Assembly reconvenes, just 21 of the 150 members — or 14% — have a J.D. degree. Comparatively, from 1851 to 1889, when individuals became lawyers by reading the law, 32% of the Legislature was comprised of attorneys, according to “The Centennial History of the Indiana General Assembly, 1816-1978” by Justin E. Walsh.
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New murder trial affirmed for Elkhart man with mental disability
A man with a mental disability who has for years claimed he was wrongfully convicted of an Elkhart murder and who spent more than 15 years behind bars can proceed to a new trial after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a post-conviction relief order vacating his murder conviction.
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Year in Review: COVID aside, Barrett’s ascent to SCOTUS tops year’s biggest legal news stories
COVID may have seemed like the only thing that happened in 2020, but for Indiana’s legal community, the past year brought watershed developments that will be with us for years to come, many of which were touched directly by the pandemic. Here are the Top 10 non-coronavirus Indiana legal news stories as determined by consensus of the Indiana Lawyer editorial staff.
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Rokita wins Indiana attorney general race
Former Indiana Congressman Todd Rokita has claimed victory in the race for Indiana attorney general, securing about 66% of Hoosier votes compared to the nearly 34% won by former Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel with about 60% of the statewide vote counted.
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Articles
Federal government settles lawsuit with Indiana, other GOP-led states to improve citizenship verification for voting
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security must provide free verification services to all state and local governments and allow Social Secruity numbers to be used for verification purposes.
Appellate court to hear arguments in Munster officials/state dispute over alleged overpayments
The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments next week for a case involving a longstanding dispute between a pair of former Munster school administrators and the state over alleged overpayments to the two men.
Trump administration sues California over law banning masked federal agents
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill that was signed in September by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Rokita appeals decision in his case against the St. Joseph County sheriff
The attorney general’s office argues that numerous undocumented immigrants have been released into St. Joseph County, jeopardizing public safety, because of the sheriff’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
BMV to hold another public hearing on proposed ban on gender marker changes to IDs
The proposed rule would prevent transgender Hoosiers from changing the gender marker on their driver’s licenses to match their gender identity.
New York Attorney General Letitia James pleads not guilty in mortgage fraud case pushed by Trump
James accused the Trump administration of using the justice system as a “tool of revenge”
Rokita’s lawsuit against St. Joseph County’s sheriff dismissed for lack of evidence
Judge Jenny Manier wrote in the court’s order that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has not provided “any real factual basis” to support his argument that St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman and the St. Joseph County Police Department were not cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A judge halted a Florida immigration law months ago. Some officers are still enforcing it
Two men last weekend were wrongly charged under a far-reaching Florida immigration law that’s currently suspended by a judicial order, according to a Monday report from the state attorney general’s office.
Rokita to deny state contracts to law firms that use DEI practices
Starting Oct. 24, the new policy will allow Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to block a state agency’s request for outside counsel if the law firm engages in “unconstitutional” diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
FTC sues Ticketmaster, saying it forces fans to pay more for concerts and events
The Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, saying they are forcing consumers to pay more to see live events through a variety of illegal tactics.
State contractors who violate anti-DEI policies could face civil penalties
The Indiana attorney general, in coordination with Gov. Mike Braun’s administration, is reviewing all state contracts to ensure that they do not violate the state’s anti-DEI laws.
AG Todd Rokita responds to state commission, denies any wrongdoing in disciplinary case
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita stands firm in his assertions that he did not engage in dishonest or contradictory behavior, “vehemently” disputing the high court disciplinary commission’s most recent charges against him in his response to its complaint on Friday.
Ward seeks execution pause over lethal injection concerns; AG argues date should stand
Attorneys for death row inmate Roy Lee Ward and the Indiana Attorney General’s Office are sparring before the state’s highest court over whether Ward’s tentative execution date should stand.
Bondi moves forward on Justice Department investigation into origins of Trump-Russia probe
It was not clear which former officials might be the target of any grand jury activity, where the grand jury that might ultimately hear evidence will be located or which prosecutors might be involved in pursuing the investigation.
Trump’s onetime friendship with Jeffrey Epstein is well-known — and also documented in records
The revelation that Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump that his name was in the Jeffrey Epstein files has focused fresh attention on the president’s relationship with the wealthy financier and the Justice Department’s announcement this month that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the case.
Trump urged supporters to see conspiracies everywhere. With Epstein, that’s coming back to haunt him
Last week, the Justice Department and the FBI abruptly walked back the notion that there’s an Epstein client list of elites who participated in the wealthy New York financier’s trafficking of underage girls.
Mystery surrounds the Jeffrey Epstein files after Bondi claims ‘tens of thousands’ of videos
The Associated Press spoke with lawyers and law enforcement officials in criminal cases of Epstein and socialite former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell who said they hadn’t seen and didn’t know of a trove of recordings like what Bondi described.
Rokita, Morales file lawsuit, allege federal failure to help with voter ID verification
Attorney General Todd Rokita and Secretary of State Diego Morales have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with the Indiana officials alleging the federal agency has failed to help verify the citizenship status of voters who registered in Indiana without providing state-issued forms of identification.
Trump officials’ defiance over Abrego Garcia’s deportation is ‘shocking,’ appeals court says
The Trump administration’s claim that it can’t do anything to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. “should be shocking,” a federal appeals court said Thursday.