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.
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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.
COA upholds grant of treble damages, denial of liability
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the award of more than $56,000 in treble damages to a senior woman deprived of a written contract by a remodeling company while also finding the men who owned the company conducting the work were not personally liable to her.
Man’s misdemeanor resisting conviction overturned under continuous crime doctrine
The Indiana Court of Appeals has partially reversed a man’s two convictions for resisting law enforcement after finding both of the convictions cannot stand under the continuous crime doctrine.
Leichty tackles constitutional questions at Senate Judiciary hearing
Appearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Tuesday, Damon Leichty said he was a proud Hoosier who learned much from the federal judge he clerked for and has been nominated to replace – Northern Indiana District Court Senior Judge Robert Miller, Jr. Leichty is the last federal judicial nominee to a vacancy in an Indiana court to appear before the judiciary committee.
‘No remorse’: Judge sends Noblesville teen shooter to juvenile detention
A 13-year-old boy has shown “no remorse” for shooting his teacher and a classmate at his Indianapolis-area school, and he will remain the responsibility of the state juvenile detention system until he is 18, an Indiana judge ruled Wednesday. Hamilton Circuit Judge Paul Felix rejected a request that the boy be sent to a private treatment facility after a May 25 shooting at Noblesville West Middle School.
Indiana sues Purdue Pharma for alleged role in opioid crisis
Claiming Purdue Pharma “bears significant responsibility” for the opioid crisis in the state, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announced Wednesday his office has filed a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant who manufactures the opioid-based pain medication Oxycontin.
Vigo Co. man receives suspended sentence in daughter’s neglect death
A western Indiana man has avoided more jail time in the 2016 death of his disabled 5-year-old daughter. Brian Moseman pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of neglect of a dependent in the death of Adilynn Moseman and received 2½ years in prison for each count, all suspended.
13-year-old Indiana boy to learn fate in May school shooting
A 13-year-old boy who opened fire inside his Noblesville middle school in May, wounding a classmate and a teacher before being tackled by the teacher, is expected to learn his punishment on Wednesday. Prosecutors have recommended the boy be sent to the Indiana Department of Correction for placement in a state juvenile detention facility for rehabilitation, but the boy’s defense attorneys want him sent to a private residential treatment center.
Daleville woman charged in son’s hot car death won’t get lower bond
A central Indiana woman who authorities say had been drinking and was taking a nap when her 2-year-old son crawled into a hot car and later died isn’t getting her bond reduced ahead of trial. A judge denied a request by Britni Nicole Wihebrink of Daleville to approve a lower bond after her 2-year-old son Jaxon Stults was found “very hot and stiff” in her car Sept. 5 and died in an ambulance.
Expired handgun permit not ‘misuse’ of firearm, COA says
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed an order to destroy a man’s handgun, finding the man did not misuse the firearm, despite his expired permit.
COA upholds denial of pro se rights to ‘sovereign citizen’
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the termination of a man’s self-representation after determining he engaged in deliberately obstructive behavior that threatened to undermine the proceedings of his case by claiming to be a "sovereign citizen."
Hanlon takes oath as Southern District judge
Faegre Baker Daniels partner James Patrick Hanlon was officially sworn in as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Tuesday morning, bringing the court to a full bench for the first time since 2014. Chief Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson administered the oath to Hanlon at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.