Supreme Court takes up cases about race in redistricting
The Supreme Court of the United States is taking up a pair of cases in which African-American voters maintain that Southern states discriminated against them in drawing electoral districts.
Courts
Articles
Jury selection begins in high-profile Saints star’s death
Conflicts settled by gunfire are tragically common in New Orleans, but there was nothing routine about this one: The dead man was retired football player Will Smith, a star on the 2006 Saints team who helped lift the stricken city's spirits with a winning season after Hurricane Katrina, and played with the team when it won the franchise's only Super Bowl three seasons later. Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of the man accused in his killing after a road-rage incident.
2 Indiana men sentenced to prison for biodiesels fraud
Two Indiana men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in what federal authorities say was a multi-million dollar fraud scheme involving biofuels.
Judge: Disabled housing discrimination suit may proceed
An Indianapolis subsidized senior-citizens housing facility must face a lawsuit from disabled tenants who claim the three-story apartment building failed to repair its only elevator for weeks, leaving them unable to get to apartments on the top two stories and leaving some disabled tenants stranded upstairs.
Hartford City sex offender ordinance unconstitutionally vague
A 2008 Hartford City ordinance that restricted registered sex offenders from entering or loitering within 300 feet of broadly defined “child safety zones” is unconstitutionally vague, a federal judge has ruled.
Bankruptcy judge announces retirement
A former chief judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana has announced his retirement.
COA affirms dismissal of case due to res judicata
Res judicata prevents a title insurance company from taking a “second bite” at the apple, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday, in a case in which the company appealed dismissal of its second attempt to challenge an action by the Indiana Department of Insurance.
Former CIB chiefs try to avoid entanglement in legal fight involving Pacers
Three former presidents of the city’s Capital Improvement Board—Pat Early, Bob Grand and Ann Lathrop—are fighting an effort by attorneys for the IRS to depose them about what they learned about the Indiana Pacers' finances during discussions with the team.
Death threats and abuse for woman leading Brexit court fight
Gina Miller is paying the price for going to court. The financial entrepreneur says she has received death threats and racial and sexual abuse since she won a High Court ruling forcing the British government to seek Parliamentary approval before leaving the European Union.
Judge pro tem appointed in Henry County
The Indiana Supreme Court has appointed longtime Knightstown lawyer and judge E. Edward Dunsmore II to temporarily fill a judicial vacancy in Henry County.
Justices consider conversion of felony to misdemeanor after plea agreement
The effect of legislative changes to state sentencing laws was at center in oral arguments before the Indiana Supreme Court Thursday.
Mother’s suit alleging DCS caseworker abuses proceeds
An Indiana Department of Child Services case manager who allegedly pursued meritless child-abuse allegations against an Indianapolis mother must face a federal civil lawsuit, though her DCS supervisors will not, a judge has ruled.
Jurors convict Indiana day care provider in toddler’s death
Jurors in northern Indiana have convicted a New Paris day care provider in the 2014 death of a 19-month-old boy in her care.
Indiana Supreme Court considers general contractor’s duty of care to subcontractors
In oral arguments on a petition to transfer a case regarding a general contractor’s duty of care to its subcontractors, the justices of the Indiana Supreme Court considered the meaning of the phrase “monitor and implement.”
Lawyer’s use of word ‘Negro’ prejudiced client, but doesn’t get PCR
A defense attorney who has since been disbarred prejudiced his absent client when he referred to him as a “Negro” before potential jurors, a judge wrote, but the offending word wasn’t enough for the Court of Appeals to grant post-conviction relief.
Justices consider transfer in chemical breath test case
Indiana’s rules regarding chemical breath tests can be read as a recipe, with each rule laid out for the process of testing someone’s blood alcohol content meant to be followed sequentially, said the attorney for a woman challenging her misdemeanor drunken-driving charges.
Anthem’s Cigna takeover could draw $3B Blue Cross fine, exec testifies
Anthem Inc. could face a penalty of about $3 billion from the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association if it fails to derive the bulk of its nationwide revenue from Blue-branded products after acquiring Cigna Corp., according to testimony from an Anthem executive during a U.S. antitrust trial in Washington.
Katie Couric moves to dismiss $13 million defamation lawsuit over ‘Under the Gun’
In court papers lodged Tuesday, Katie Couric contends that a gun rights group has read too much into pregnant silence in Under the Gun. She's now moved for dismissal of a $13 million lawsuit with the argument that eight seconds from the two-hour-long documentary are incapable of defamatory meaning.
Allen County judge dismisses Fort Wayne tax suit for lack of jurisdiction
An Allen County judge has dismissed the city of Fort Wayne’s complaint against the county auditor’s allocations of taxes, writing that the case should be heard in the Indiana Tax Court, not a trial court.
Full 7th Circuit hears LGBT-workplace bias appeal
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has heard arguments en banc on whether the 1964 Civil Rights Act covers workplace discrimination against LGBT workers.