Dispute over unpaid sewer fees could head to court
Dozens of residents in southern Indiana could face legal action for failing to pay to tie in to sewer lines in a newly annexed area.
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Access counselor doubts city’s need for secrecy on justice center RFP
Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt told the city of Indianapolis that he wasn’t swayed by its reasons for withholding its request for proposals for a new $500 million criminal justice complex.
Program gets $1 million US grant to mentor ex-cons
An Indianapolis nonprofit is receiving a $1 million Department of Justice grant to mentor released prison inmates who are mothers and fathers.
Annexation called ‘legalized bullying’ during interim study committee meeting
Property owners told Indiana legislators Sept. 24 that despite the General Assembly’s continual tinkering with the state’s annexation statute, the process still favors municipalities by giving them all the power to take the land they want without considering the owners’ wishes.
Child services investigators claim unpaid overtime
Two Indiana Department of Child Services investigators say in a lawsuit that they've had to work extensive overtime without receiving required overtime pay.
White House says Holder resigning as attorney general
Eric Holder, who served as the public face of the Obama administration's legal fight against terrorism and pushed to make the criminal justice system more even-handed, is resigning after six years on the job. He is the nation's first black attorney general.
State’s way of paying public defenders debated
The state pays the salaries of its judges and prosecutors, but public defenders are paid by counties that are only partially reimbursed for their costs — an approach that some including the executive director of the Indiana Public Defender Council want to see changed.
Spotlight: North/Central Indiana
A round up of news from northern and central Indiana, including a mayor’s attempt to stay his contempt order.
Mentally ill inmates straining jail and DOC resources
An interim legislative committee is examining the need for treatment options but is unsure if funding will be available.
Representation is imperative to due process for immigrants
The cases involving immigrant children coming to the U.S. from Central America are creating more need for pro bono legal representation and are highlighting an area of asylum law that the courts struggle to clearly define.
Line blurs on intoxication
Convictions for public intoxication don’t just require being pickled in public anymore. An inebriated person now has to do something else, but conduct elements added to the criminal statute in 2012 have blurred what constitutes a misdemeanor.
No dismissal of charges against county treasurer
A judge has rejected a central Indiana county treasurer's request for the dismissal of criminal charges that he mishandled public money.
Indiana Toll Road operator files for bankruptcy
A judge and creditors will have to decide who runs the Indiana Toll Road after the highway's private operator filed for bankruptcy protection, formally acknowledging that it couldn't afford the debt from the multibillion-dollar deal to take over the highway.
State holds $1.2 million in domestic violence funds
The trustees of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute have decided to stick by a plan that withholds $1.2 million in domestic violence prevention funds from private agencies until they submit spending plans.
Judgment favoring policeman’s meth-exposure claim reversed
A police officer who claimed disability resulting from his work dismantling methamphetamine labs had a favorable trial court ruling reversed by the Indiana Court of Appeals Friday.
DCS settles adoption subsidy lawsuit
Families who sued the Department of Child Services will receive $15.1 million in state foster child adoption subsidies withheld from 2009 to 2014, DCS announced Thursday.
Judge rules for revenue department on man’s claim for sanctions
A man who argued that the Indiana Department of State Revenue should be sanctioned for allegedly producing his ex-wife’s transmittal envelope for her tax return and passing it off as his own lost his case before the Indiana Tax Court Thursday.
Indiana may slash funds for domestic violence victims
Advocates for domestic violence victims and the administration of Gov. Mike Pence clashed Wednesday over whether it's seeking to slash funding for services when demand is surging after a video showed suspended NFL player Ray Rice hitting his future wife.
Judiciary study committee to consider new judges, consent to adoption
The Indiana General Assembly’s Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary meets Thursday for the first time this year and will look at the addition of judges in several counties.
County sheriffs tell dire stories of mentally ill held in local jails
From different communities in different parts of Indiana, two county sheriffs told lawmakers very similar stories about the mentally ill individuals who end up in their jails.