Walmart sues US in pre-emptive strike in opioid abuse battle
Walmart is suing the U.S. government in a pre-emptive strike in the battle over its responsibility in the opioid abuse crisis.
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Judge slams DeVos for rejecting 94% of loan relief claims
Months after vowing to process a backlog of 160,000 requests for loan forgiveness from students who say they were defrauded by their schools, the U.S. Education Department has rejected 94% of claims it has reviewed, according to a federal judge who is demanding justification for the “blistering pace” of denials.
Protest arrests show regular Americans, not urban antifa
President Donald Trump portrays the hundreds of people arrested nationwide in protests against racial injustice as violent urban left-wing radicals. But an Associated Press review of thousands of pages of court documents tell a different story.
SCOTUS to hear border wall funding, ‘Remain in Mexico’ appeals
The Supreme Court of the United States agreed Monday to hear the Trump administration’s appeal of a lower court ruling that it improperly diverted money to build portions of the border wall with Mexico as well as an appeal of an administration policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings.
Retired Magistrate Judge Cherry to serve Southern District as criminal duty magistrate
A retired magistrate judge of Indiana’s Northern District Court has been temporarily assigned to provide targeted assistance in the Indianapolis division of the Southern District Court, Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson announced Thursday.
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.
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.
Analysis: Trump’s mostly white male judges buck 30-year trend of increasing court diversity
Most of the 218 judges Trump has so far appointed to the federal judiciary are not women or judges of color, bucking a 30-year historical trend of increasing diversity on the bench, a Purdue University researcher says.
AG Hill appeals ruling blocking noon Election Day absentee receipt law
Attorney General Curtis Hill’s office is appealing a judge’s ruling that absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 must be counted. Meanwhile, the state acknowledged in its filing that election officials are taking steps to count those ballots if the judge’s order stands.
Hearing officer recommends dismissal of Mackey discipline case
The attorney discipline case accusing high-profile Barnes & Thornburg partner Larry Mackey of an improper relationship with the ex-wife of a former Fishers money manager client who was convicted of securities fraud should be dismissed, the hearing officer in his case has recommended.
Challenges to Indiana voting laws pile up in 7th Circuit, which will livestream one today
Indiana’s prohibition against no-excuse absentee voting goes before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday afternoon, with the plaintiffs trying to convince the appellate panel to reverse the district judge’s ruling and allow all registered Hoosier voters to cast their ballots by mail in the Nov. 3 presidential election. The federal appeals court will livestream oral arguments in the case.
‘Her Honor’: New painting reflects strength, diversity of women judges on Southern Indiana District Court
Looking up from her desk, Southern Indiana District Court Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson can have a moment of joy in a year where, as she noted, joyful moments have been too few. The object of her respite is “Her Honor,” a newly finished painting that depicts her and her female colleagues against a background of colorful bursts and expression to commemorate the achievement of women in the 100 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment.
State opposes ‘last minute change’ to polling hours law
The state of Indiana is trying to stop a federal judge’s ruling that would allow Hoosier voters themselves to go to state court and file for an extension of polling hours if problems arise with balloting on Election Day.
Former Indiana lawmakers, casino exec indicted in federal campaign finance scheme
Two former state lawmakers have been charged in federal court in Indianapolis with violations of campaign finance laws, the Indiana Southern District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Suit: Challenged law may invalidate tens of thousands of Indiana mail-in ballots
An estimated 10,000 Hoosiers’ mail-in absentee ballots were rejected as “late” during Indiana’s 2020 primary election under a disputed Indiana law, suggesting multiple times more ballots may be thrown out in the Nov. 3 general election, groups challenging the law in federal court contend.
Judge blocks Indiana law restricting who may seek polling hour extension
A federal judge has blocked a 2019 Indiana law restricting who may seek to extend polling-place hours due to conditions that prevent voters from casting a ballot.
Suit seeks $3M in damages over alleged wrongful DCS actions
Indianapolis parents who claim the Indiana Department of Child Services wrongly removed their children from the home over allegedly false accusations of sexual abuse have filed a federal lawsuit against the agency seeking $3 million in damages.
Southern District proposes amended initial extension rules
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has proposed changes to rules governing requests for initial extensions of time.
7th Circuit denies bid to stay execution of Black man convicted of murder
The first Black man scheduled to be executed since the resumption of lethal injection on federal death row lost his appeal for a stay Friday when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found he had almost no chance of relief arguing his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and that the judge who condemned him was an alcoholic.
Judge: Memory-impaired man’s suit claiming Carmel City Hall assault may proceed in part
A man who has difficulty forming new memories and therefore records his interactions on video may proceed with a lawsuit on narrowed claims alleging he was injured after a confrontation with a city attorney in Carmel City Hall as the man recorded his interactions with staff.