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.
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.
With former President Donald Trump’s tax returns finally in hand, a team of New York prosecutors led by a newly hired former mob-buster is sending out fresh subpoenas and meeting face-to-face with key witnesses, scrutinizing Trump’s business practices in granular detail.
Republican attorneys general from 21 states, including Indiana, are questioning a provision in the $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue plan that bars states from using its funds to offset tax cuts.
Taking the reins at the Justice Department, Attorney General Merrick Garland sought Thursday to assure career staffers that he would prioritize restoring the department’s reputation for political independence and ensuring equal justice after a tumultuous four years under former President Donald Trump.
Indiana’s new attorney general is being paid by private businesses for consulting work, including $25,000 a year for advising a Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company, according to a newspaper report.
The Senate confirmed Merrick Garland on Wednesday to be the next U.S. attorney general with a strong bipartisan vote, placing the widely respected, veteran judge in the post as President Joe Biden has vowed to restore the Justice Department’s reputation for independence.
The Supreme Court on Thursday made it harder for longtime immigrants who have been convicted of a crime to avoid deportation. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion for a 5-3 conservative majority that ruled against a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. illegally and has lived in the country for 25 years.
Under a bill in the Statehouse, a prosecutor who establishes a policy of not charging certain offenses would be considered “noncompliant.” But local prosecutors fear changes that would step on their prosecutorial discretion and give the attorney general, a statewide officeholder, a say over her local decisions.
I asked former three-term Indiana Attorney General Linley Pearson, if you were a younger person today, would you run for office? He didn’t hesitate. “There’s no question today I could not be in politics,” he said. “It’s just totally changed, and it’s not very attractive to me. … If you want to exaggerate or malign a person, you could always do that, but do you want to do that?”
A controversial bill that would allow the Indiana attorney general to request a special prosecutor if elected prosecutors become “noncompliant” passed the Indiana Senate on Tuesday. Senate Bill 200 is now headed to the Indiana House for further consideration.
A coalition of former federal judges, including two from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, is urging the U.S. Senate to confirm Judge Merrick Garland as the U.S. Attorney General, describing him as having a “strong moral compass and abiding integrity.”
In a significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court is declining to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor. The court’s action Monday is the apparent culmination of a lengthy legal battle that had already reached the high court once before.
Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general, is appearing for his confirmation hearing Monday vowing to prioritize civil rights, combat extremist attacks and ensure the Justice Department remains politically independent.
The Hoosier state will bring home $12.5 million in a multistate settlement with a consulting firm that played a major role working for opioid companies accused of profiting from the opioid epidemic, including Purdue Pharma, the Indiana Attorney General’s office announced Thursday.
The National Rifle Association announced Friday it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will seek to incorporate the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group in Texas instead of New York, where a state lawsuit is trying to put the organization out of business.
Promising to put liberty into action, former Indiana Congressman and Secretary of State Todd Rokita returned to elected office Monday, taking the oath as Indiana’s 44th attorney general.
Former Attorney General William Barr said Thursday President Donald Trump’s conduct as a violent mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol was a “betrayal of his office and supporters.” Separately, more than 6,200 additional National Guard members were activated to secure the Capitol ahead of president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
President-elect Joe Biden has selected Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge who in 2016 was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court, as his attorney general, two people familiar with the selection process said Wednesday.
Indiana Inspector General Lori Torres will move into a new public position next month, transitioning to the role of chief deputy attorney general and chief of staff to Attorney General-elect Todd Rokita.