Indiana AG urges Congress to not pass voting rights bill
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is leading an effort to derail the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, calling the legislation “misguided, clumsy and heavy-handed.”
Attorney General
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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
Indiana Supreme Court declines to block governor’s lawsuit
A split Indiana Supreme Court has not only squashed an attempt to derail the governor’s lawsuit against the Legislature but has also barred any petition to bring the matter back before the justices.
Indiana officials appealing decision against abortion laws
The Indiana attorney general’s office has started an appeal of a federal judge’s ruling that several state laws restricting abortion are unconstitutional, including the state’s ban on telemedicine consultations between doctors and women seeking abortions.
Justices accepting briefs in AG’s bid to stop Holcomb’s lawsuit against General Assembly
The Indiana Supreme Court is calling for briefs in the attorney general’s bid to stop proceedings in the governor’s lawsuit against the Indiana General Assembly.
Rokita asks Supreme Court to stop proceedings in Holcomb lawsuit against General Assembly
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to order a trial court to stop proceedings in the governor’s lawsuit challenging a new law that allows Indiana legislators to call themselves into a special legislative session.
Cities opting out of Indiana’s suits against opioid makers
Several Indiana cities have opted out of the state’s pending lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors, reasoning that they will likely see more cash from their own litigation filed in response to the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Attorney general argues governor exceeding authority
Attorney General Todd Rokita argues in new legal filings that Gov. Eric Holcomb is wrongly trying to use the courts to expand his powers with a lawsuit challenging the authority state legislators have given themselves to intervene during public emergencies.
AG argues governor not allowed to override Legislature’s veto
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is doubling down on his argument that the governor cannot turn to the courts to settle the dispute over House Enrolled Act 1123, asserting the executive branch is attempting to use the judiciary to demand a “super” veto of the Legislature.
Holcomb claims Rokita seeking to expand power of attorney general’s office
As part of his battle with the Legislature over executive powers, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is accusing Attorney General Todd Rokita of creating a legal fiction in order to expand the attorney general’s “authority beyond his statutory duties and powers.”
AGs urge Facebook to drop ‘Instagram for kids’ proposal
A bipartisan group of 44 attorneys general has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging him to drop company plans for a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday.
Judge orders Justice Department to release Trump obstruction memo
A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.
AG Rokita files motion to strike governor’s lawsuit
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a motion to strike Friday to have the Marion Superior Court toss the governor’s lawsuit over executive powers, arguing in part, “the Governor cannot merely sue the legislature over laws he does not like.”
Holcomb’s lawsuit draws rebuke from Attorney General
Following the Legislature’s override of his veto, Gov. Eric Holcomb has filed a lawsuit against the legislative branch, claiming the provisions in HEA 1123 which allow the Indiana General Assembly to call itself into “emergency session” are unconstitutional. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, however, is asserting that his office has the exclusive authority to resolve the dispute.
After George Floyd ex-cop’s conviction, AG Garland opens Minneapolis police probe
Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to announce that the Justice Department is opening a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis a day after a former officer was convicted in the killing of George Floyd.
Ramsey Clark, attorney general under Johnson, dies at 93
Ramsey Clark, the attorney general in the Johnson administration who became an outspoken activist for unpopular causes and a harsh critic of U.S. policy, has died. He was 93.
Judge blocks ‘discriminatory’ residency, sales requirements for alcohol permits
An Indiana law requiring bars and restaurants owned by out-of-state entrepreneurs to gross more than $100,000 in food sales each year to receive an Indiana alcohol permit has been permanently struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge.
Judge dismisses lawsuit over Indiana’s Lake Michigan beaches
A federal judge has dismissed the latest attempt by property owners in a northwestern Indiana town to deny public access to Lake Michigan beaches.
SCOTUS to hear bid for new defense of Kentucky abortion law
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from Kentucky’s attorney general, who wants to be allowed to defend a restriction on abortion rights that lower courts had struck down and which the governor has chosen not to defend.
On federal death row, inmates talk about Biden, executions
On federal death row in Terre Haute, prisoners fling notes on a string under each other’s cell doors and converse through interconnected air ducts. A top issue these days: whether President Joe Biden will halt executions, several told The Associated Press.
Rokita’s AG office defends governor’s mask order power in restaurant suit
Indiana’s attorney general’s office vigorously defended Gov. Eric Holcomb’s emergency powers in response to a restaurant’s lawsuit challenging his order that masks must be worn inside restaurants to stem the spread of the coronavirus.