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Shepard receives ICLEF award
The Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum recently gave Randall T. Shepard, former Indiana chief justice, an award for his contributions to continuing legal education.
Child Advocates has been the voice of children for 30 years
As Court Appointed Special Advocate for Marion County, Child Advocates is celebrating its 30th anniversary, having assisted more than 75,000 children since its inception. Today, the organization advocates for every child involved in a Marion County abuse or neglect case – more than 5,000 annually – with the help of more than 400 volunteers.
Massa investiture ceremony held Monday
Mark Massa was robed as the 107th justice of the Indiana Supreme Court in an investiture ceremony held Monday in the Supreme Court Courtroom.
Justices to decide case questioning health care costs charged to uninsured patients
Indiana’s high court will hear arguments Thursday in Allen v. Clarian Health Partners, Inc., 955 N.E.2d 804 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), vacated.
Disbarred attorney accused of forgery
Rodney P. Sniadecki, a sole practitioner in South Bend who was disbarred by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2010, has been indicted on three counts of forgery.
Vacancies on federal bench will be topic of White House meetings Monday
Reba Boyd Wooden, executive director of the Center for Inquiry-Indiana, will travel to Washington Monday to meet with White House officials about the vacancy crisis in America’s federal courts.
Attorney sentenced to 8 years for theft
Stacy Sheedy, the Indianapolis attorney and accountant who pleaded guilty to theft charges for misappropriating nearly $600,000 from a guardianship account and family trust, was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday.
COA affirms when interest on payments from state fund begins to accrue
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court ruling in a dispute over what interest rate is charged and when it begins to accrue on payments due from the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund to successful medical malpractice claimants.
Judges reverse marijuana conviction
The search of the car driven by a defendant violated the Fourth Amendment, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled, so the trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence obtained through an inventory search of the car.
COA finds man was shareholder at time of stock sale
A dispute between family members over stock of the family company led to the Indiana Court of Appeals addressing an issue involving shareholders and revocable trusts that hasn’t yet been addressed in Indiana: whether the settlor, who places shares of stock into a revocable inter vivos trust and names himself as trustee and beneficiary, retains his shareholder status.
Man can’t prove ineffective assistance from attorney
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a man’s petition for post-conviction relief, in which he claimed his trial counsel was ineffective.
Chief justice to be selected May 15
The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission will meet May 15 to vote on who will be Indiana’s chief justice. Justice Brent Dickson has been acting chief justice since Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard retired in March.
3 task force proposals address issues in Marion County Small Claims courts
The Marion County Small Claims Task Force created by the Indiana Supreme Court has released its report outlining its investigation into problems within the county’s small claims courts. The report proposes three ways to address the problems, including incorporating the small claims courts into Marion Superior Court.
7th Circuit vacates sanction in contempt judgment
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found that an order, while unclear, did require a company to become the operator of leases involving oil and gas fields in Texas. But the judges held the District Court judge didn’t fully explain why he was imposing the sanction he did, so the 7th Circuit vacated the sanction.
Patriotic Veterans seeks to lift ban on robo-calls for primary
An Illinois-based nonprofit that wants to make political robo-calls in Indiana for the May primary has asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to lift a stay banning the company from doing so.
Massa investiture May 7
The formal swearing-in ceremony for new Indiana Justice Mark Massa will be May 7 in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom.
Indiana justices take 2 cases
The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case filed by a fired professor at the University of Evansville against the school.
COA affirms use of equitable subrogation
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision to award title over a disputed piece of property, but reversed regarding the order the defendant pay the plaintiff’s attorney fees.
Judges affirm denial of motion to withdraw plea
The trial court did not err when it denied a defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea after his attorney failed to discover that the state could charge him with being a habitual offender in only one of the two separate causes that were filed against him, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.