Jury selected in Marsh civil trial
Don Marsh will have a lot of explaining to do about millions of dollars in expenses he charged to Marsh Supermarkets during a two-week civil trial that got underway Monday morning.
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Defense attorneys turn tough in Bales trial
The legal team representing real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer haven't called their first witness and already they're putting up a spirited fight as federal prosecutors seek to prove charges including bank, mail and wire fraud.
7th Circuit reverses dismissal of prisoner’s suit
A lawsuit filed by a prisoner at the Pendleton Correctional Facility against two prison doctors and a nurse after he learned he had prostate cancer is allowed to continue after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of his suit.
Former Venture employee turns on Bales during testimony
An FBI investigation into Venture Real Estate Services and principals John Bales and Bill Spencer had already begun when Matthew Dyer signed on as the company's controller in December 2009.
Defense attorneys in Bales case trash former co-defendant
Indianapolis attorney and developer Paul J. Page is no longer a co-defendant in the fraud trial of real estate broker John M. Bales and a partner after agreeing to a plea deal, but you wouldn't know it from the action Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
Changes to Federal Rule 45 are first in more than 2 decades
For the past several years, who could be compelled to appear at a federal trial depended on whom you asked.
Northern Indiana judges help create state’s mock trial tradition
Standing between two judges offering different opinions on how to proceed is not a place many attorneys would want to be. However, a group of students at Adams High School in South Bend often found themselves with opposing pieces of advice from the jurists. Two sets of instructions, two judges and no chance for a recess.
Fraud trial for broker Bales begins in South Bend
The federal fraud trial of Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and a partner began Monday morning in South Bend with a jury-selection process that may not have run as smoothly if it took place in central Indiana.
Conour fraud trial set for September
A federal judge Friday morning set a new trial date of Sept. 9 for an Indianapolis high-profile lawyer accused of misappropriating millions in client funds.
Indiana water utilities receive millions in atrazine settlement
More than a dozen Indiana water utilities will receive checks of $100,000 or more as part of $105 million in settlement disbursements announced last week in the last phase of litigation involving the weed killer atrazine that contaminated more than 1,100 water systems nationwide.
Judge dismisses federal right-to-work challenge
A U.S. District judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed in Hammond by a labor union challenging the state’s right-to-work law for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Chief Judge Philip P. Simon in the Northern District of Indiana did allow two counts claiming the law violates the Indiana Constitution to proceed in state court.
Federal Bar Update: Southern District of Indiana adopts rule amendments
The Southern District has amended several Local Rules. These were approved in late December and took effect Jan. 1.
Ruling: DOC ‘indifferent’ to mentally ill inmates
The opinion from the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana fits the national trend against isolation policy for these inmates.
Sequestration would deepen staff cuts, chief judges warn
Federal courts that have squeezed staff as budgets shrank could be forced to furlough employees if Congress fails to avoid mandatory budget cuts that now are slated to take effect in March.
Ex-Chicago cop among 3 sentenced in Latin Kings prosecutions
The continuing federal prosecutions of the Latin Kings street gang that federal authorities have implicated in 19 murders resulted in a 19-year sentence for a former Chicago police officer.
Indianapolis attorney pleads guilty in deal with prosecutors
Indianapolis attorney and developer Paul J. Page has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in an investigation that also targets former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.
Judge: DOC treatment of mentally ill unconstitutional
A lack of basic treatment for mentally ill Indiana Department of Correction inmates held in isolation violates the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Man argues the sentencing guidelines were applied incorrectly
A Wisconsin man who used a stolen Indiana driver’s license to obtain a passport had his sentence affirmed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals which held certain provisions in the sentencing guidelines should be applied differently depending on the circumstances.
Snow forces court, office closures
Many people in Indiana may be enjoying an extra-long Christmas vacation thanks to blizzard-like conditions in parts of the state. Heavy snow and high winds have led to closures, including Indiana’s appellate courts.
Comments being accepted on bankruptcy local rules
The judges of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana are considering amendments to two local rules: B-4001-3 and B-4008-1.