State courts to adopt e-filing in 2015
Indiana courts will switch to electronic filing beginning next year, according to an order issued Thursday by the Indiana Supreme Court.
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Articles
Judges reverse convictions based on use of witness’s statement
Because the state called a witness solely to impeach her with a pretrial statement, and the jury may have relied on the witness’s testimony to convict the defendant, a majority on the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed burglary and receiving stolen property convictions.
Lucas Oil vendor not entitled to summary judgment in dram shop case
It should be up to the trial court or a jury to determine whether a vendor in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis should be held responsible for serving alcohol to a man who later hit two children while driving home after a game.
COA: Court should not have imposed 2-mile ban as part of probation
The Indiana Court of Appeals found a trial court abused its discretion when it originally imposed a probation condition prohibiting a man from going within two miles of where he committed battery against a stranger.
CLEO interns assigned to Court of Appeals, Tax Court
Eight students from three law schools have been selected for summer internships with judges of the Indiana Court of Appeals and Tax Court through the 2014 Carr L. Darden Conference for Legal Education Opportunity internship program.
New class ceremonially admitted to Indiana bar
A ceremony at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis marked the admission of 160 new attorneys to the practice of law Tuesday.
COA rules natural parents’ consent unnecessary in adoption
Once a trial court found a child’s natural parents to be unfit, the court did not need to revisit that finding at an adoption hearing, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Disciplinary Actions – 5/21/14
Read who’s been disbarred, suspended or resigned from the bar.
New members of the American Law Institute bring energy and diversity
Members of the American Law Institute help to research and write the Restatements of the Law, which are used by judges and attorneys to gain insight into laws and how those laws are applied around the country.
7th Circuit to hear Indiana same-sex marriage challenge
Shortly after a federal judge ordered Indiana to recognize the marriage of one same-sex couple, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General continued its defense of “traditional marriage” by filing a notice of appeal with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. By doing so, it added to the list of appellate courts hearing challenges to state marriage laws.
Attempted child seduction case exposes gap in law
The Indiana Supreme Court is considering whether a teacher took a substantial step toward the crime of attempted child seduction when he sent explicit Facebook messages to a 16-year-old student and proposed arranging to meet for sex.
Lawyers question enforcement of advertising rules
One of Indiana’s most familiar legal names – a frequent flier on buses, billboards and TV commercials – says enforcement of disciplinary rules governing attorney advertising is a mess and needs an overhaul. The Indiana State Bar Association is considering preapproving ads.
School district not immune from liability in shooting incident
Although a principal was responsible for formulating and implementing a security plan for her school, the level of discretion the principal had was not enough to give the school district immunity from liability following an in-school shooting.
Spierer civil suit discovery halted; claims called ‘precarious’
The federal civil lawsuit naming two former Indiana University students who were among the last to see missing IU freshman Lauren Spierer will proceed, but a judge Monday narrowed the inquiry regarding one defendant and halted discovery in the meantime.
Supreme Court grants transfer in 4 cases
The Indiana Supreme Court will review reversal of a man’s conviction of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon due to a police officer’s testimony about the man’s nickname.
Tax Court affirms rejection of fire protection district
A faulty legal notice published to advertise a public hearing for the purpose of creating a fire protection district in northern Madison County was sufficient grounds for the state to deny creation of the district, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Friday.
Loss of power disrupts courts in Northern Indiana
A major power outage in Northern Indiana has shut down the federal courthouse in downtown South Bend.
Marion County criminal courts near Odyssey conversion
Marion Superior criminal court workers are training and IT staff and clerks are working overtime preparing for what will be the largest adoption of the Odyssey case management system to date.
Lawyer disbarred for client altercation, numerous violations
A criminal defense lawyer accused of instigating a physical altercation with a former client at the City-County Building in Indianapolis and committing numerous rules violations has been disbarred.