Goshen courthouse clock to get overhaul for 150th birthday
A clock that’s told the time since the early 1900s from its perch atop a northern Indiana courthouse is getting a full overhaul ahead of its 150th birthday.
Courts
Articles
Indiana lawmakers move forward with hate crime bill
Two Republican state lawmakers have released draft legislation that would address Indiana’s lack of a hate crimes law by giving judges the ability to consider bias as an aggravating factor when considering prison sentences.
COA finds miscalculation in divorce pension division
A seven-year-old divorce case is returning to the trial court after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the division of the husband’s pension and the monthly rehabilitative maintenance needed to be recalculated.
COA to hear commitment case Monday in Fishers
The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear argument next week in a case involving an involuntary mental health commitment that was not signed by the presiding judge.
COA: Sisters’ estate tort claims against brother may proceed
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a son’s motion to dismiss when it found his sisters’ tort claims against him arising from a dispute over inheritance could move forward in the trial court.
Admitted evidence won’t be suppressed in OWI case, COA affirms
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a Columbus woman’s motion to suppress evidence admitted related to her driving while intoxicated charges.
Charter school religion suit defendants awarded costs
After dismissing a First Amendment complaint that alleged a Monroe County charter school violated religious protection laws, a district court judge has awarded the Indiana superintendent of public instruction nearly $1,500 in costs and is considering an award of more than $1,800 for the school.
Attorney convicted of cocaine charge suspended 3 years
A Marion attorney already under interim and administrative suspensions has been suspended from the practice of law for at least three years for professional misconduct, including her continual abuse of cocaine.
Judge: Indy deputy used excessive force ‘sadistically and maliciously’
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy used excessive force against a former jail inmate “sadistically and maliciously,” a federal judge determined, ruling in favor of the inmate and ordering a determination of damages he is owed.
Man competent for trial in ex-girlfriend’s gruesome killing
A Jeffersonville man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body has been found competent to stand trial.
Judge: White House must return CNN’s Acosta’s credential
A federal judge Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta, saying Acosta suffered “irreparable harm” from the decision to bar him.
Woman pleads not guilty in students’ bus stop deaths
A Rochester woman accused of striking and killing three children with a pickup truck as they crossed a highway to board a school bus entered a preliminary not guilty plea Thursday.
Trump backs first sentencing law overhaul in decades
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his support for the first major rewrite of the nation’s criminal justice sentencing laws in a generation, but it remains to be seen whether the proposal can pass Congress.
COA: Defendant with transcript has no right to trial recording
A trial court’s decision to decline to provide a criminal defendant with an electronic recording of his trial has been upheld, with the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling the defendant did not have a right to the electronic copy because he already had received the trial transcript.
School closing postpones traveling oral argument
A school closing due to winter weather postponed an oral argument that had been scheduled for Thursday on the north side of Indianapolis. The closing of North Central High School forced the rescheduling of oral arguments in Jazzmen Bails v. State of Indiana, and a new date and location was not immediately available.
Judge: Race, age discrimination claims against Amazon may proceed
An age and race discrimination case against online shopping giant Amazon will proceed after a district judge in Indianapolis partially declined to dismiss claims brought by a former employee.
Flake vows to oppose judges unless Mueller bill gets a vote
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said Wednesday that he won’t vote to confirm judicial nominees unless GOP leaders hold a vote on legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired.
Woman charged in bus stop crash that killed 3 due in court
A Rochester woman charged in a school bus stop crash that killed three children is due in court for her first hearing in the case.
Second man faces charge in off-duty officer’s 1980 death
Another man is facing a murder charge in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty northwestern Indiana police officer. A 68-year-old man released this summer from an Illinois prison sentence has been charged in the slaying of Hammond officer Lawrence Pucalik.
7th Circuit affirms sanctions in Indy photo copyright dispute
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the imposition of sanctions against an attorney for filing a frivolous and misleading motion against another attorney who claims his copyrighted photo of the Indianapolis skyline was used without permission by the defendant’s client.