Study committee supports judicial requests in 6 counties
Courts in six Indiana counties have received a favorable recommendation for additional judicial resources after a unanimous vote by the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary.
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Lawyer’s bid for reinstatement fails on 2-2 Supreme Court vote
A Fort Wayne attorney suspended more than two years ago over a scheme involving deceptive marketing practices failed in his bid for reinstatement as justices of the Indiana Supreme Court split 2-2 over his readmission to the practice of law. The fifth justice recused himself in the matter because he had served as the hearing officer in the attorney’s discipline case prior to his appointment to the high court.
Justices to weigh Trump census plan to exclude noncitizens
The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up President Donald Trump’s policy, blocked by a lower court, to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count that will be used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives.
COA reverses, remands for retrial on damages in car crash dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded for retrial on the issue of damages in a negligence case brought by a Lake County woman who suffered a concussion stemming from a car crash.
Appeals panel affirms judgment against Miami County in busted water line dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed judgment against Miami County employees who caused more than $100,000 in damages to water lines that supplied the City of Peru during an attempted logjam removal.
Indiana mail-in ballots already more than triple for all of 2016 vote
Indiana voters have already cast more than three times as many ballots by mail than they did throughout the entire last presidential election, and with 18 days remaining until the Nov. 3 vote, the number of total Indiana absentee ballots that have been approved is nearing the total for all of the 2016 election.
Reversal: Shelter must face negligence suit after adopted dog mauls girl
A south side Indianapolis animal shelter must face a lawsuit from an adopter whose child was attacked by a dog with a history of aggression, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, reversing a trial court’s grant of summary judgment for the shelter.
SCOTUS rejects Floyd County killer’s death sentence appeals
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected appeals from a Floyd County man sentenced to death after he was convicted of two counts of murder for killing two women eight years ago and later confessing to a 2003 slaying.
Hoosiers give support to Barrett at confirmation hearing
Both Indiana Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun praised 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s intelligence, commitment to the law and love for her family during Monday’s opening round of her confirmation hearing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Wisconsin absentee case may be headed to SCOTUS after 7th Circuit ruling
Democrats and their allies said Tuesday they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin that are received up to six days after the election can be counted — a move being fought by Republicans who have opposed other attempts across the country to expand voting.
Ruling affirms 1-year protective order, OKs deviating from statute’s 2-year term
Indiana trial courts are not bound by a two-year term for protective orders found in state law, but they also may not establish a policy setting a standard term for protective orders that substitutes for a different term of duration.
Cellphone subpoena appeal tossed for man whose ex-wife’s body was found in lake
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed an appeal from a man whose ex-wife’s body was found in a southern Indiana lake six years ago. The man sought to quash a subpoena for his cellphone records sought by the woman’s father, who previously fought local law enforcement to win access to investigatory records pertaining to his daughter’s death.
Barrett vows no ‘agenda’ on high court
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is vowing to bring no “agenda” to the court, batting back senators’ questions Tuesday on abortion, gun rights and the November election, insisting she would take a conservative approach to the law but decide cases as they come.
In abortion regulation suit, judge’s split opinion lets some claims proceed
Laws regarding the regulation of abortion clinics in Indiana that were challenged by the operators of a South Bend clinic that opened last year were upheld in part by a federal judge’s ruling, but the suit also was allowed to continue in part.
Attempt to change ‘and’ to ‘or’ stumbles in court
A lawsuit brought to prevent a single-word change in a state law from taking effect ended Thursday with a dismissal, which followed an earlier ruling by the Marion Superior Court denying the plaintiffs’ motion to enjoin the state from enforcing the statute.
Barrett vows to interpret laws ‘as they are written’
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett declared Monday that Americans “deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution and laws as they are written,” encapsulating her conservative approach to the law that has Republicans excited about the prospect of her taking the place of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day.
Justices reprimand 2 Indianapolis attorneys
Two Indianapolis attorneys have been reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court after they reached agreements with the disciplinary commission in their attorney ethics cases.
‘Worst of the worst’ killer’s appeal denied in Fort Wayne barber’s slaying
A man a trial court found to be the “worst of the worst” killers for gunning down a Fort Wayne barber outside his shop was properly convicted and sentenced to more than 87 years in prison, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Hamilton County magistrate judge sentenced in meth case faces discipline
More than 18 months after his arrest on felony charges stemming from a methamphetamine sting, a former Hamilton County magistrate judge also faces a judicial discipline case related to his conduct. Police said that conduct included biting the thumb of an officer who tried to pry a bag of meth from the jurist’s mouth.
7th Circuit fast-tracks appeal over noon Election Day deadline for receipt of absentee ballots
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has given parties just days to file briefs in an expedited appeal over a state law requiring election officials to receive absentee ballots by noon on Election Day. The court’s fast track positions it to rule on the matter just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 election, while it issued a sharply divided opinion Thursday upholding a somewhat similar law in a Wisconsin case.