Woman pleads guilty to striking Indianapolis protesters
An Indianapolis woman has pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness for driving her minivan into several people protesting the death of George Floyd last year.
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Indiana Senate approves ‘abortion reversal’ requirement
Indiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature on Tuesday voted to advance a bill that tightens state abortion laws despite objections that it would force doctors to provide dubious information to their patients.
High court nixes Alex Jones’ appeal in Newtown shooting case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was fighting a Connecticut court sanction in a defamation lawsuit brought by relatives of some of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
SCOTUS dismisses case over Trump and Twitter critics
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a case over former President Donald Trump’s efforts to block critics from his personal Twitter account. The court said there was nothing left to the case after Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter and ended his presidential term in January.
Justices uphold FCC’s easing of local media ownership limits
The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday unanimously upheld federal regulators’ decision to ease ownership limits on local media, rejecting a claim that the change would hurt minority and female ownership.
Court lets woman’s defamation suit vs. Trump proceed again
Former President Donald Trump could face questioning under oath about a former reality TV show contestant’s sexual assault allegations against him after a ruling from New York’s highest court Tuesday.
Dominion Voting sues Fox for $1.6B over 2020 election claims
Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Friday, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election.
Lawmakers press Big Tech CEOs on speech responsibility
The CEOs of tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google faced a grilling Thursday in Congress as lawmakers tried to draw them into acknowledging their companies’ roles in fueling the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and rising COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.
Druidism must be recognized in Department of Correction, judge rules
Druidism could soon become a formally recognized religion within the Indiana Department of Correction after a federal judge granted injunctive relief to a prisoner who claimed his religious rights were violated by the lack of communal Druid services in the DOC.
SCOTUS seems ready to rule against unions in farm case
The United States Supreme Court appeared ready Monday to side with two California agriculture businesses that want to bar labor organizers from their property, a case that could be another blow to unions.
Indianapolis loses appeal of order to permit Hustler Hollywood store
The city of Indianapolis has lost its appeal in years-long litigation against Hustler Hollywood, which has been trying for more than four years to open a store in the Circle City. The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a lower court ruling ordering the city to issue permits to the adult entertainment company.
Indy TV station loses public records dispute against Hamilton Southeastern schools
A Hamilton County school district fulfilled its public disclosure duties when it provided information about a suspended employee’s discipline and personnel history, even though the district did not provide specific personnel records, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled. The appellate court used its Wednesday decision to call on the Indiana General Assembly to provide more clarity in how public agencies should respond to public records requests.
Work to keep voters informed continuing even in non-election year
In a year without an election, The Indiana Citizen, a nonprofit focused on increasing voter turnout, is transforming its website into a source of news and information about Hoosier politics, elected officials and civic issues that attorney co-founder Bill Moreau described as “our new venture into accountability journalism.”
High court revives ex-student’s suit against Georgia college
The Supreme Court is reviving a lawsuit brought by a Georgia college student who sued school officials after being prevented from distributing Christian literature on campus. Chief Justice John Roberts was the lone dissenter, lamenting that the ruling risked “turning judges into advice columnists.”
LGBTQ rights bill ignites debate over religious liberty
A sweeping bill that would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people is a top priority of President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress. Yet as the Equality Act heads to the Senate after winning House approval, its prospects seem bleak — to a large extent because of opposition from conservative religious leaders.
Biden marks ‘Bloody Sunday’ by signing voting rights order
A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access.
Stafford: A veteran of Indiana GOP politics looks on, shakes his head
I asked former three-term Indiana Attorney General Linley Pearson, if you were a younger person today, would you run for office? He didn’t hesitate. “There’s no question today I could not be in politics,” he said. “It’s just totally changed, and it’s not very attractive to me. … If you want to exaggerate or malign a person, you could always do that, but do you want to do that?”
House votes to expand legal safeguards for LGBTQ people
The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation’s labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
Indiana House backs ending gun permits, tighter abortion law
Republicans pushed bills through the Indiana House on Monday that would repeal the state’s permit requirement for carrying a handgun in public and further tighten the state’s abortion laws, joining movements in several other GOP-controlled states.
High court to take up Trump immigration, abortion referral rules
The United States Supreme Court said Monday it will take up challenges to controversial Trump administration policies affecting family-planning clinics and immigrants, even though the Biden administration has announced it is reviewing them.