Lawyers exiting Indiana’s congressional delegation
Rep. Pete Visclosky’s decision to retire from the U.S. Congress after 35 years will create the possibility that Indiana’s delegation in the House of Representatives will not include an attorney.
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Justice Dept. appeals order on Mueller grand jury testimony
The Justice Department on Monday appealed a judge’s order directing the department to provide the House with secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The department also asked Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell to put her own order on hold until a federal appeals court has an opportunity to weigh in.
Indiana to consider creating a government corruption hotline
Indiana residents soon could have a hotline for reporting improper or illegal spending and other suspected corruption by local government officials, if lawmakers approve a proposal being drafted by a legislative committee.
Suit seeks to ban Indiana voting machines lacking paper trail
A lawsuit being filed in Indianapolis on Thursday will ask a federal court to decertify voting machines in the state before the 2020 election that do not provide a voter-verified paper trail. The suit says about 58 of Indiana’s 92 counties continue to use machines at the polls that lack a paper trail and are therefore not sufficiently secure.
Marion County files first charge of drug dealing resulting in death
For the first time in Marion County, a suspected drug dealer has been charged under a new law criminalizing dealing that leads to a drug user’s death.
AG Hill tries barring testimony against him
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is trying to block two women from testifying about allegations of sexual misconduct as he faces a disciplinary hearing on separate claims that he drunkenly groped four women at a bar last year.
AG Hill’s top advisers compelled to produce evidence in discipline case
Two of Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s top advisers must produce documents concerning their communications with him regarding the groping and sexual misconduct accusations that led to his attorney discipline hearings, scheduled to begin next week.
Indiana voters weary of more investigations as impeachment ramps up
Polling finds that support for the inquiry has grown since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the start of the investigation last month following a whistleblower complaint. But what those numbers don’t show is the sense of fatigue among some Americans — a factor that could be significant as Democrats leading the inquiry debate how to proceed with an election year approaching.
US appeals court skeptical of Trump’s Medicaid work rules
A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday sharply questioned the Trump administration’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients, casting doubt on a key part of a government-wide effort to place conditions on low-income people seeking taxpayer-financed assistance.
Indiana BMV puts nonbinary gender option for IDs on hold
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is putting on hold a policy allowing nonbinary gender designations on driver’s licenses while state officials develop new formal regulations for gender changes on state-issued IDs.
Mears promises to be independent, tough on violent crime as Marion County prosecutor
Ryan Mears has been named the new Marion County prosecutor, replacing former Prosecutor Terry Curry.
House Democrats subpoena Giuliani in Trump impeachment probe
Democrats on Monday subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer who was at the heart of Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s family.
Trump seems to blur lines between personal lawyer, attorney general
As Washington plunges into impeachment, Attorney General William Barr finds himself engulfed in the political firestorm, facing questions about his role in President Donald Trump’s outreach to Ukraine and the administration’s attempts to keep a whistleblower complaint from Congress.
Indiana election upgrade leaves widespread paperless voting
Indiana officials are launching a statewide election system upgrade that will add devices to perhaps 2,000 electronic voting machines and allow them to display a paper record to voters. The State Budget Committee voted Friday to approve releasing $6 million in funding for that project.
Key Senate panel approves $250 million for election security
A key Senate panel on Thursday approved $250 million to help states beef up their election systems, freeing up the money after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came under criticism from Democrats for impeding separate election security legislation.
Justices: Amended statute retroactively applies in eminent domain action
Indiana Supreme Court justices have determined that an amended statute dealing with ownership transfer in instances of eminent domain may be applied retroactively.
School district sues Indiana over building transfer for $1
West Lafayette Community School Corp. is suing the state to protect a vacant elementary school building from being sold or leased to a charter school for $1. Charter schools can lease or buy the building for $1 if a school building is unused for two years. But the Department of Education must know beforehand, according to a 2011 law.
Bopp Law Office loses attorney fees lawsuit
A former Illinois Congressman who redecorated his Capitol Hill office in an extravagant “Downton Abbey” style and then was indicted in 2016 for federal campaign finance violations has won a dispute over attorney fees against his former counsel, the Bopp Law Firm in Terre Haute.
Study committee begins summer review of criminal justice reform initiatives
As criminal justice reform efforts continue across the state, members of the Indiana General Assembly are meeting this summer to discuss issues related to pre-trial release, indigency and sentencing, among others.
Indiana just days away from legalized sports betting
Sports betting is days away from becoming legal in Indiana and the state’s casinos are lining up to start collecting wagers. Indiana will become the 12th state — and the first in the midst of major Midwest markets — with sports betting when a new state law takes effect Sunday.