Courts - The Indiana Lawyer

State, community group urge SCOTUS to reject Lake Michigan access case

January 15, 2019

The state of Indiana and a community group favoring public access to the shore of Lake Michigan have filed briefs urging the Supreme Court of the United States to reject an appeal that could partly privatize the state’s 45 miles of Great Lakes beaches. Briefs filed Friday urge the high court to affirm the Indiana Supreme Court ruling that found the public has a right to walk along the shore of Lake Michigan from the water’s edge to the ordinary high water mark.

Woman settles lawsuit over jailing due to mistaken identity

January 15, 2019

A northwest Indiana woman who alleged she was wrongfully held in the Valparaiso jail for nearly two months in a case of mistaken identity has reached a $6,000 settlement in the case.

Tax Court : Assessor’s petition not untimely, non-compliant

January 14, 2019

The Indiana Tax Court has denied an Indianapolis business and arts center’s motion to dismiss an assessor’s appeal, finding the assessor’s summons was not untimely or non-compliant.

Majority justices remand drug sentence to determine treatment eligibility

January 14, 2019

A woman who has yet to receive court-ordered substance abuse treatment may soon receive it after the Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to her case.

Indy attorney who told court ‘someone is going to die’ suspended

January 14, 2019

An Indianapolis attorney charged with intimidation against a Marion County court and other offenses has been suspended from the practice of law after the Indiana Supreme Court granted a petition for his emergency suspension.

COA reverses commitment order, doesn’t address judge’s missing signature

January 14, 2019

An Indiana appellate panel has reversed a man’s involuntary civil commitment on the grounds of insufficient evidence, though the judges sidestepped the issue of whether the commitment order was valid considering it was signed by a commissioner, not a judge.

Magistrate Judge Cherry retires with legacy of being ‘consummate professional’

January 14, 2019

Northern Indiana District Court Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry has retired, ending a career that included six years as DeKalb County prosecutor and 15-plus years on the federal bench. Cherry, who began his tenure as magistrate judge on Oct. 1, 2003, retired Dec. 31, 2018.

Decatur lawyer sentenced to jail for forgery, counterfeiting

January 14, 2019

A suspended northern Indiana lawyer was sentenced Friday to nearly nine months in jail for forging a judge’s signature on a phony divorce order and sending a client a bogus email that she represented as coming from a deputy prosecutor. Jill Holtzclaw of Decatur was sentenced to serve 270 days behind bars followed by a year of probation for her convictions of Level 6 felony counts of forgery and counterfeiting.

Ex-nursing home CEO wants convictions tossed because of Barnes’ ‘profound conflict of interest’

January 14, 2019

The ringleader in one of the largest corporate-fraud cases in Indiana in recent years is asking a judge to throw out his felony convictions on the grounds that his legal team at the Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg failed to disclose a “profound conflict of interest.”

Congress to face same question: When will shutdown end?

January 14, 2019

Congress returns to Washington for its first full week of legislative business since control of the House reverted to Democrats, but lawmakers will be confronted with the same lingering question: When will the partial government shutdown end?

Tow operator pleads guilty to bribing Portage mayor

January 14, 2019

A northwestern Indiana towing operator has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge alleging he paid a mayor $12,000 for a towing contract. John Cortina, 79, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage entered the plea Friday, three days before the public corruption trial of Republican Portage Mayor James Snyder is set to begin.

Bar groups oppose grandparent visitation bill

January 11, 2019

The Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee is pumping the brakes on a bill that would allow grandparents and great-grandparents to seek visitation with their grandchildren despite estrangements with the children’s parents, with two notable Indiana bar association groups speaking out against the proposed legislation.

COA: buyer did not slander title to property in lis pendens notice

January 11, 2019

Issuing another ruling in a 10-year lawsuit arising from a real estate deal gone bad, the Indiana Court of Appeals reminded the property seller that it cannot sue the buyer for slander over statements made in a lis pendens notice.

Mom faces jail, $14K sanction for contempt of grandparent visitation order

January 11, 2019

A DeKalb County mother who refused to comply with court-ordered visitation between her children and their paternal grandparents must now serve jail time and pay a $14,000 sanction after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld visitation and contempt orders on Friday.

Breakfast and bravos for pro bono attorneys

January 11, 2019

Despite a demanding caseload and the stress caused by the government shutdown, the judges and staff at the Southern Indiana District Court took time Thursday morning to treat their pro bono attorneys to a hearty breakfast and a thank you.

State court suit aims to ban Indiana death penalty

January 11, 2019

A lawsuit naming Gov. Eric Holcomb filed on behalf of a prisoner on Indiana’s death row urges a state court to issue an injunction halting capital punishment and rule that the state’s ultimate criminal penalty violates the Indiana Constitution.

Truckers sue the state for increased toll road fees

January 11, 2019

A group of truck drivers is suing Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb for the increases in toll road fees that took effect last year along the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road across the northernmost counties of the state.

Parole rejected for man convicted in killing, dismemberment

January 10, 2019

The Indiana Parole Board has again rejected parole for an Indiana man who was convicted in a woman's 1986 killing and dismemberment.

Authorities: Suspect in 2017 Texas slaying caught in Indiana

January 10, 2019

Authorities say a suspect in the New Year's Eve 2017 shooting death of a woman in Texas has been captured in northwestern Indiana.

Suit blames sorority in death of college athlete from Indiana

January 10, 2019

The mother of a player from Indiana on the Northwestern University women’s basketball team who died in 2017 has sued a sorority claiming hazing by its members led to her daughter's suicide.

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