Appeals court affirms termination of mother’s parental rights
A Marion County mother has failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that her parental rights over her 13-year-old daughter should be reinstated.
Drugs
Articles
Indiana police now using drug-detection device on drivers
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute is providing 52 police agencies across the state with a new roadside tool that can detect the presence of cocaine, opiates, cannabis and other drugs.
Bell named acting US attorney for Northern District
Gary T. Bell has been named the acting United States attorney for the Northern District of Indiana following the confirmation of former Northern District Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 1st impression case, COA says officers must explain training to get warrants based on drug odors
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the denial of a motion to suppress drug-related evidence found during a search of a Greene County man’s home. The appellate court ruled on an issue of first impression that probable cause for a search warrant cannot be based only on an officer’s detection of the smell of marijuana without additional information about the officer’s training.
Justices grant transfer in one case, decline 21 others
Indiana Supreme Court justices declined to hear 21 cases of out 22 petitions for transfer last week, agreeing to hear just one case concerning a man’s lookalike drug-related conviction in a search and seizure dispute.
Judge convicted after meth sting barred from bench, suspended
A Hamilton County judge who purchased meth from an informant in a sting operation then bit the thumb of an officer who tried to stop the jurist from swallowing the evidence has been barred from holding judicial office but may continue to conditionally practice law after a 90-day suspension.
Trial in West Virginia federal opioid lawsuit postponed indefinitely
A federal judge in West Virginia has indefinitely postponed a trial date in a lawsuit filed by the city of Huntington and Cabell County over the opioid crisis.
Appeals panel to hear arguments in traffic stop, cash forfeiture case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday will hear oral argument in a civil forfeiture case involving the Hancock County prosecutor and tens of thousands of dollars.
Divided justices affirm lookalike drug conviction in search dispute
A split Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed a man’s drug-related conviction after the Indiana Court of Appeals previously reversed in his favor, finding a search and seizure that resulted in his arrest proceeded within the bounds of the Fourth Amendment.
Indianapolis Assessment Intervention Center to open next week
The Assessment Intervention Center, the first completed building at the new Community Justice Campus in Marion County, is set to open next week.
Sentence upheld for pharmacy exec convicted of distributing bad drugs
The former owner of a Noblesville compounding pharmacy lost an appeal of his conviction and prison sentence related to the distribution of drugs that contained more or less potency than labeled – in some cases with a potency up to 25 times greater than they should have been.
Man dies days after ramming head into Evansville police car
A 20-year-old man has died three days after he rammed his head into an Evansville police car as officers were taking him into custody following a disturbance at a gathering, authorities said.
Indiana high court won’t hear appeal in girl’s crash death
Indiana’s high court won’t be taking up a woman’s appeal of her convictions in her 6-year-old daughter’s death in a 2017 highway crash.
Montpelier man charged in crash deaths of his 2 young children
An eastern Indiana man has been charged in the deaths of his two young children, with authorities alleging he had drugs in his system when his pickup truck was involved in a fiery crash.
Michigan woman gets 13 years in Indiana death of girl, 10
A Michigan woman has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to neglect charges in the drug-related Indiana death of her boyfriend’s 10-year-old daughter.
Strip search of ‘fidgety’ arrestee that found cocaine splits COA
A woman who was strip searched while being processed at the Marion County Jail, turning up a small packet of cocaine on her breast, lost her drug-conviction appeal Friday. The newest member of the Indiana Court of Appeals dissented, warning the majority’s holding in the case “would render per se reasonable a strip search of every person being processed for a substance offense, no matter how minor.”
Justices to hear oil company’s appeal of denied insurance ransomware claim
The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to hear an oil company’s appeal of a ruling against its claim for insurance coverage after it paid a ransom to hackers to regain control of its computer systems.
Weinzapfel: ‘The time is now’ to legalize pot in Indiana
Democratic Indiana attorney general candidate Jonathan Weinzapfel is calling for the full legalization of marijuana in Indiana, saying the time has come for the state to take a “common sense” approach to the substance.
Trio charged with killing brothers in White Co.
Three people have been charged with two counts of murder each in the shooting deaths of two brothers in their northwestern Indiana home.
Gang member who says he beat up R. Kelly sentenced in deaths
A convicted gang member who said he beat up jailed R&B singer R. Kelly in a Chicago cell in August has been sentenced by an Indiana court to life in prison for a racketeering conviction that involved two 1999 murders.