Lawyer in alleged investment scheme enters another plea
A suspended lawyer who formerly worked in northern Indiana and was charged with scamming elderly investors has pleaded guilty to another charge in the case.
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Driving while suspended conviction reversed; gun evidence upheld
Evidence of a gun found inside a truck during a traffic stop was not suppressed despite a man’s appeal, but his conviction for driving while suspended was vacated by an appellate court after both parties agreed there was insufficient evidence to support it.
Magistrate judges are finalists for Lake Superior vacancy
Three Lake County magistrate judges have been selected as finalists to fill a vacancy on the northwestern Indiana county’s superior court bench.
Lawyer discipline hearing in Park Tudor case could be closed
The attorney facing professional ethics charges over his handling of sexual misconduct accusations against a now-imprisoned former Park Tudor basketball coach will be permitted to provide some evidence under seal, and at least portions of his attorney discipline hearing may be closed to the public.
Debt collectors to use email, texts under new Trump rules
Debt collectors will be able to start contacting borrowers via text and email under new regulations proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Majority justices won’t hear more commitment appeals lacking judge’s signature
Indiana Supreme Court justices split over whether to grant transfer in two civil commitment order cases last week but granted transfer in two similar cases in a per curiam opinion that disapproved of a Marion County judge’s practice of permitting a presiding commissioner to sign the orders in his place.
Court fight continues over logging along Lake Monroe
Some property owners along southern Indiana’s Lake Monroe are making a new attempt to stop a neighbor from logging his land.
Ex-White House lawyer defies House subpoena for Mueller docs
A former White House lawyer defied a congressional subpoena Tuesday, setting the Trump administration on course for another collision with the Democratic-led House over its pursuit of documents related to the Russia investigation.
Nadler: ‘Constitutional crisis’ over Mueller report dispute
The House Judiciary chairman said Wednesday the Trump administration’s refusal to provide special counsel Robert Mueller’s full Russia report to Congress presents a “constitutional crisis,” leaving the panel no choice but to move forward with a contempt vote against Attorney General William Barr.
Indianapolis police arrest 2 men in shootings of Clark County judges
Indiana police said Tuesday detectives arrested 41-year-old Brandon Kaiser and 23-year-old Alfredo Vazquez for their alleged roles in the shootings of Clark Circuit Judges Bradley Jacobs and Andrew Adams. Marion County Jail records shown Kaiser faces preliminary charges of attempted murder, battery, aggravated battery and carrying a handgun without a license, and Vazquez is charged with assisting a criminal.
1st black, female major general in U.S Army speaks at federal courts’ Black History event
Dozens gathered to belatedly celebrate Black History Month on Friday at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, but the delay only heightened the joyful celebration. A crowd gathered to hear from honorary guest Major General Marcia Anderson, the first African-American woman to achieve the rank of major general in the history of the United States Army.
AG Hill files suit against Equifax for 2017 data breach
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General is suing one of the world’s largest credit agencies after a 2017 cyberattack breached the personal information of millions of Hoosiers. The lawsuit against Equifax seeks civil penalties, consumer restitution, costs and injunctive relief following the massive data breach that compromised the personal information of nearly 148 million Americans and nearly 4 million Hoosiers.
Are additional Celadon execs in prosecutors’ sights?
Federal prosecutors in late April accused the Indianapolis-based trucking company Celadon Group Inc. of engineering a sweeping accounting fraud that hid losses in the tens of millions of dollars, and they announced a felony charge against one of the company’s former executives. But if the fraud was so sweeping, why did prosecutors charge just one person and spare other former top executives (at least so far)?
What lawmakers did — and didn’t do — in the 2019 session
The 2019 legislative session ended April 24 — five days ahead of the statutory deadline — with hundreds of bills sent to Gov. Eric Holcomb for his consideration. Here’s a look at some of the top issues.
Gary woman agrees to plead guilty in daughter’s shooting death
A northwestern Indiana woman has agreed to plead guilty to a reduced neglect charge stemming from her 2-year-old daughter’s shooting death. Dashana Fowler, 22, Gary, agreed Monday to plead guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury in the Sept. 4 death of Jayla Miller.
Man withdraws effort challenging conviction in Gary officer’s death
A man who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatally shooting a northwestern Indiana police officer in 2014 has withdrawn his effort to challenge his conviction. Carl Le’Ellis Blount filed a petition last year alleging Lake County prosecutors threatened him to get him to plead guilty to murder in the shooting death of Gary Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield, but he asked to withdraw his petition in April.
COA reverses med-mal ruling in favor of doctor, hospital
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded a judgement in favor of an East Chicago hospital and doctor after finding the Medical Malpractice Act did not govern a claim alleging the doctor negligently shared a patient’s health information.
Indiana’s abortion ultrasound petition listed at U.S. Supreme Court
While the U.S. Supreme Court is still considering Indiana’s petition for a review of two abortion laws blocked by the lower courts, another abortion petition from the Hoosier state has been listed for the justices’ May 9 conference. Indiana filed a writ of certiorari Feb. 4, asking the Supreme Court to uphold its law requiring an ultrasound be performed on women seeking an abortion at least 18 hours before the procedure.
Man’s failure to wear hardhat didn’t cause tree cutting injury, 7th Circuit rules
A man who was nearly killed in a tree cutting accident successfully appealed his negligence claims to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found error with the admission of evidence that he was not wearing certain safety equipment at the time of the incident.
Dismissal of lawyer’s defamation suit against magistrate affirmed
A Lafayette attorney alleging a Tippecanoe County magistrate defamed him by reporting he was carrying a firearm in court in violation of state law lost his appeal of the dismissal of his defamation case when the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded the magistrate was acting within her judicial capacity.