Walmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
Walmart proposed a $3.1 billion legal settlement Tuesday over the toll of powerful prescription opioids sold at its pharmacies.
Drugs
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7th Circuit vacates 10-year sentence after district court wrongly dismisses evidence of drug purity
A split 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated a 10-year prison sentence for a drug dealer after finding a district court failed to address “some evidence” suggesting inaccurate drug testing.
Voters in 5 states deciding whether to legalize marijuana
Voters in five states are deciding on Election Day whether to approve recreational marijuana, a move that could signal a major shift toward legalization in even the most conservative parts of the country.
Which states put marijuana on the ballot in 2022?
Recreational marijuana could be legal in half the country if the handful of states with cannabis measures on ballots this November pass them.
Russian court rejects Griner appeal against 9-year sentence
A Russian court on Tuesday upheld the nine-year prison sentence handed to American basketball star Brittney Griner for drug possession, rejecting her appeal.
7th Circuit affirms convictions, sentences for three in major Gary drug conspiracy
Three Gary men intertwined in a major drug ring did not sway the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals from affirming their convictions and decadeslong sentences on Friday.
Law enforcement, public health experts still targeting fentanyl
With the highly lethal synthetic substance fentanyl being trafficked across state and country borders, often laced with other drugs on the black market, law enforcement and public health experts are trying to keep up with its increased use and distribution.
Funeral Monday for Indiana officer shot during traffic stop
The public funeral for an eastern Indiana police officer who died Sunday night after being shot in the head during a traffic stop will be held next week at a high school, her department said.
COA reversal: Jury trial was not required in civil forfeiture proceeding
A jury trial was not required for an Allen County man’s civil forfeiture case, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded in a reversal.
Officials: Indiana police officer shot in August has died
An eastern Indiana police officer who was shot in the head during a traffic stop in August has died more than two weeks after she was removed from life support, authorities said.
COA rehearing reaps same result: MDMB rule vague
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reaffirmed an earlier ruling that held the state’s classification of a synthetic cannabinoid as a Schedule I controlled substance is unconstitutionally vague.
Attorney’s probation revoked after positive drug test
An Indianapolis attorney who had been on probationary status following a drug conviction has been suspended from the practice of law for at least 275 days starting Sept. 15 without automatic reinstatement.
7th Circuit vacates conspiracy conviction for drug dealer who didn’t understand charge
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated and remanded a drug dealer’s conviction of conspiracy as well as his sentences after concluding a district court failed to clear up any confusion regarding his guilty plea.
127-year sentence upheld in ‘horrific’ torture, murder case
A man who brutally tortured and murdered a woman and seriously injured and robbed another individual will keep his 127-year sentence behind bars, the Court of Appeals has affirmed.
Indiana man accused of dismembering girlfriend’s body
A western Indiana man is accused of dismembering his girlfriend with a chain saw and putting her remains in trash bags after she died while they were smoking methamphetamine.
COA rules officers’ show of ‘power and influence’ did not force defendant to allow entry
An Evansville man argued that when he answered his front door and saw half a dozen police officers on his porch, he had to let them into his house. But while the Court of Appeals of Indiana did not find any constitutional violation, it did fault the officers for failing to turn on their body cameras and record the encounter.
COA reverses drug charges because person of ‘ordinary intelligence’ wouldn’t know about crime
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has tossed drug charges against three individuals because the emergency rule that made the synthetic cannabinoid a Schedule I narcotic failed to provide adequate information so that person of “ordinary intelligence” would know he or she was engaging in illegal behavior.
COA: Despite driver’s admission to smoking meth, state failed to prove OWI
A man who told Indiana State Police that he had smoked methamphetamine hours before he was pulled over has had his operating while intoxicated conviction reversed.
COA rejects challenge to meth conviction, sentence
A man found sitting on a container of meth has failed in his appeal of both his possession conviction and his eight-plus-year sentence.
7th Circuit affirms denial of suppression of evidence from traffic stop
An Indiana man arrested during a traffic stop for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance has not convinced the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals the officer that pulled him over conducted an illegal search.