Southern District to offer CLE on implicit bias
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana next month will host a training session on implicit bias in the legal environment, welcoming both experienced and young attorneys to attend.
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Letter to the editor: Hill discipline recommendation raises race bias concerns
The Indiana Disciplinary Commission’s recommended professional sanctions against Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill attests to ongoing racial disparities within the state’s legal and criminal justice system.
Report: Elkhart Police Department must track use of force
A northern Indiana city’s police department has a reputation for the rough treatment of residents and offending officers are seldom held accountable, according to an external review conducted following the release of video showing two officers repeatedly punching a handcuffed man.
‘Precedent setting settlement’ ends rent-to-own housing lawsuit
A legal fight over a rent-to-buy real estate business that included the landlord hitting back and filing a counterclaim for defamation against the plaintiffs ended Friday with the parties reaching a settlement that, among other provisions, requires the defendants pay nearly $400,000 plus attorney fees.
McKinney alumnae forge friendships spanning 40 years
A group of women law student trailblazers who entered the profession in the late 1970s never let their bond of friendship fade. At a recent 40th annual reunion,one asked her former IU McKinney classmates, “Can anyone here imagine being where you are today without the others?” They responded in unison, “no.”
Ex-employee accuses Lafayette Mercedes-Benz dealership of discrimination
A black former sales manager at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Lafayette is suing the business, saying he was fired in retaliation for complaining about the owner’s repeated use of racist language and his boasts about overcharging African-American customers.
Officer who resigned amid racial bias claims hired in Jeffersonville
A white Kentucky police officer who resigned amid allegations of racial bias has now been hired as an officer at a department in southern Indiana.
US Supreme Court takes up cases about LGBT employment rights
The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in two of the term’s most closely watched cases over whether federal civil rights law protects LGBT people from job discrimination.
Judge hearing suit over Indiana’s religious objections law
Conservative religious groups are arguing their constitutional rights were violated by limits that were placed on Indiana’s contentious religious objections law signed in 2015 by then-Gov. Mike Pence.
Desegregation advocate to mark Hispanic Heritage Month
A woman who fought to desegregate California public schools when she was 9 years old will discuss the lawsuit that altered the course of her life next week during a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration hosted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Latino Affairs Committee.
Dallas officer who fatally shot neighbor faces sentencing
The same jury that convicted a white Dallas police officer of murder in the fatal shooting of her black neighbor returns to court Wednesday to consider her sentence — a penalty that could be anywhere from five years to life in prison.
Taking a seat at the table: Women neutrals underrepresented in some fields
In the field of alternative dispute resolution, diversity appears to be making fewer gains than in the legal profession as a whole. A 2018 article in the ABA Journal reported that, generally, studies show women comprising around 20% of the national ADR field. Similarly, American Bar Association Resolution 105 calls dispute resolution “arguably the least diverse corner of the profession.”
Web Exclusive: Trailblazers reflect on progress of women in law
As Barnes & Thornburg recognized trailblazing professional women with its annual Shirley’s Legacy Award recently, past recipients shared their views of how women are faring in the legal profession and the challenges that persist.
Justices order new drunken driving trial after possible juror bias
A woman convicted on a drunken driving charge will get a new trial after the Indiana Supreme Court unanimously threw out her conviction on Friday. The justices remanded the Marion County case because the trial court did not hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant could have challenged a selected juror who later admitted that a family member had been killed by a drunken driver.
COA rules for tenant in landlord’s breach of contract case
An apartment tenant facing eviction who alleged his landlord failed to take keep the space safe, clean and habitable won favor from an appellate panel Tuesday.
Biased juror’s seating reverses post-conviction ruling on rehearing
An Indiana Court of Appeals panel admitted it erred in a prior post-conviction ruling, finding after rehearing that a man was entitled to a new trial because a clearly biased juror was seated in his child molesting trial.
COA: Court disregarded procedures in PCR case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s denied petition for relief from what he alleged as conspiracy to wrongfully convict and confine him, among other things, after finding a post-conviction court erred in the procedure it used to dispose of his petition.
Zipping into statutes: Overview of new laws for 2019
Although the $34 billion budget dominated the session, legislators introduced and considered more than 600 bills each in both the Senate and the House. The ones they passed covered a variety of matters, including hate crimes, hemp, gambling, foster parents, electricity generation and, of course, electric scooters.
Woman gets unsupervised probation for leaving racist letter
A woman who police say admitted leaving a racist letter at the home of a family with a biracial son has been sentenced to 180 days of unsupervised probation.
Supreme Court set for case on racial bias in jury selection
Curtis Flowers has been jailed in Mississippi for 22 years, even as prosecutors couldn’t get a murder conviction against him to stick through five trials. This week, the Supreme Court will consider whether his conviction and death sentence in a sixth trial should stand or be overturned for a familiar reason: because prosecutors improperly kept African-Americans off the jury.