Holcomb doubles Pence’s 4-year total of pardons in one day
Gov. Eric Holcomb issued six pardons on Nov. 20 — twice the absolutions granted by his predecessor, now-Vice President Mike Pence, during his four years as governor.
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SCOTUS to decide whether patent challenges must be heard in court
In the wake of hefty attorney fees and an onslaught of what was viewed as unnecessary litigation filed by “patent trolls,” Congress authorized the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to begin conducting inter partes reviews of patent challenges in 2012 as an efficient and cost-effective alternative to patent litigation. But now, the popular IPR process could be in jeopardy as the United States Supreme Court considers whether federal law requires patent challenges to be adjudicated in court.
Task force researches improving Indiana’s public defender system
On the heels of criticism from a national organization and multiple lawsuits challenging Indiana’s public defender system, Indiana lawmakers and legal stakeholders are beginning to review the state’s public defense mechanisms to identify strategies for improvement.
COA overturns summary judgment in contract dispute
In the second appeal stemming from a cancelled contract between Lake County and a delinquent tax collector, the Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of the county based on its precedent from a previous 2015 decision.
7th Circuit upholds qualified immunity
The Department of Correction’s religious director was entitled to qualified immunity on a complaint alleging he violated two Jewish plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights by failing to delay their transfer to a facility that did not offer Jewish group worship services, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
COA throws out handgun, driving with suspended license convictions
After determining an inventory search of a man’s car was actually investigatory in nature, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Monday the man’s conviction of possession of a handgun without a license. The court also threw out the man’s conviction of driving with a suspended license for lack of evidence.
Hill moves to intervene in case restricting local ICE detentions
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has filed a motion to intervene in a federal immigration case after a district court judge entered a consent decree barring the Marion County Sheriff’s Office from detaining illegal immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a warrant or probable cause. The decree implicates the state’s ability to enforce its own statutes, Hill argued, thus creating the need for the state to intervene and file an appeal.
7th Circuit upholds Armed Career Criminal Act sentence
An Indiana man sentenced to 15 years under the Armed Criminal Career Act has lost his appeal of his sentence after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he met the requirements of three prior violent offenses to warrant the Act’s mandatory 15-year minimum.
Citing civil forfeiture ruling, trial court returns seized property
Nearly four months after a district court judge struck down portions of Indiana’s civil forfeiture statute as unconstitutional, the effects of that decision are now being felt in Indiana’s trial courts, where a judge has ordered the return of seized property pursuant to the district court’s ruling.
COA grants rehearing, but declines to reconsider October opinion
After a granting petitions for rehearing and clarifying its instructions to the trial court on remand, the Indiana Court of Appeals declined Monday to reconsider its original October opinion in an appeal stemming from a series of eight robbery-related charges.
Court upholds sentences for OWI, driving with forfeited privileges
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the sentences imposed on a man convicted of driving while intoxicated and with a forfeited license, finding the man failed to prove his sentence was inappropriate.
South Bend prosecutor looking into untested rape kits
A northern Indiana county prosecutor says he doesn’t know why hundreds of rape kits were not sent away to a crime lab for testing.
Michigan man sentenced for nearly $1M Indiana fraud scheme
A Michigan man has been sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison for a fraud scheme in which authorities say he stole nearly $1 million from people investing in his Indianapolis-based business.
Fraternity appeals school’s decision after hazing probe
A fraternity at the University of Southern Indiana is appealing the school’s decision to withdraw recognition of the organization’s chapter following hazing and alcohol violations.
Civil Rights Commission’s $96K discrimination award upheld
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a nearly $100,000 judgment in favor of a black man who claims he was subject to discriminatory practices by his former employer after ruling the Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s finding in favor of the man was not invalid or void.
COA vacates carrying a handgun without a license adjudication
A juvenile adjudicated as a delinquent for two handgun-related offenses will have one of those adjudications vacated after the Indiana Court of Appeals found a lack of statutory authority to support the adjudication.
Charitable exemption for Starke County nonprofit upheld
A Starke County mental health non-profit was properly awarded a partial charitable exemption on its real property because the nonprofit provides a public benefit and lessens the government’s burden of addressing mental health issues, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Friday.
7th Circuit gives new remand instructions on petition for rehearing
After withdrawing a September opinion to correct an error in remand instructions, a panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has once again ordered a district court judge to partially vacate two men’s child pornography convictions in order to correct a double jeopardy violation.
Justices to decide if med-mal case must be dismissed on free speech grounds
The future of a medical malpractice complaint against a doctor who reported suspected child abuse in her patient will be decided by the justices of the Indiana Supreme Court, who must determine whether the doctor’s report was protected by an Indiana free speech statute.
Huntington judge faces sex-based harassment suit
A longtime judge in Huntington County at the center of a separate recent controversy has been sued by a county employee who alleges she was the victim of the judge’s “campaign of sex-based harassment, discrimination, and retaliation” that “created a hostile and oppressive workplace environment.”