AG Rokita continuing business advisory roles
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.
Attorney General
Articles
Senate confirms Merrick Garland to be U.S. attorney general
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.
SCOTUS raises bar for some immigrants to avoid deportation
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.
Bill aims to prevent ‘social justice prosecuting’
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.
Stafford: A veteran of Indiana GOP politics looks on, shakes his head
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?”
Bill challenging ‘noncompliant’ prosecutors clears Indiana Senate
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.
Tinder, Williams support Garland’s nomination for AG
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.”
SCOTUS won’t halt Trump tax record turnover
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.
AG nominee Garland to focus on civil rights, political independence
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.
Indiana gets $12.5 million in opioid settlement with McKinsey & Co.
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.
NRA declares bankruptcy, plans to incorporate in Texas
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.
Rokita pledges ‘liberty in action’ at AG inauguration
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.
Ex-AG Barr: Trump conduct ‘betrayal’ of presidency
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.
Biden to name judge Merrick Garland as attorney general
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.
Inspector General Torres joining AG-elect Rokita as chief deputy, chief of staff
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.
DOJ: Operation Legend yields 94 violent crime arrests in Indy
Almost 100 individuals accused of violent crime in Indianapolis have been arrested and charged through a federal program designed to decrease violence across major U.S. cities, the Department of Justice has announced.
Judge delays execution of only woman on US death row
A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row in Terre Haute, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
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.
AG Hill sues Nevada company for fraudulent sale of 3M masks
A Nevada company already facing a federal lawsuit in Indiana for efforts to defraud the state into buying respiratory masks the company didn’t have access to is now facing a state-court complaint brought by the Indiana attorney general.
AG Hill, 3 Indiana congressmen sign onto Texas suit seeking to void election
The Texas lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate President-elect Joe Biden’s victory has quickly become a conservative litmus test, as 106 members of Congress and multiple state attorneys general — including Indiana’s — signed onto the case even as some who joined predicted it will fail.