Make net metering, renewable energy an issue
Energy is one of the major issues environmentalists and lawyers who work with companies concerned about green technology are keeping an eye on during the 2010 Indiana legislative session.
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Lawyers balance public role as legislators
In his 35 years as a lawyer-legislator, Sen. Richard Bray has thought about whether he should get involved in litigation because
of his role as an elected state official. While he doesn't recall this ever affecting his involvement on a case or legislation
before him, the veteran attorney from Martinsville, who practices with his son at The Bray Law Office, sees how it could present
problems.
Legal community supports civic education efforts
After winning the We The People simulated congressional hearing competition in December, one of the largest first-place
teams in Indiana in at least seven years will head to Washington, D.C., for the national competition in late April.
Judges see more cases that involve veterans
For a little more than a year, Grant Superior Judge Mark Spitzer has presided over his local drug court and
has witnessed what he describes as remarkable results from the problem-solving court model.
How to survive this recession
An economy gone sour and law firms not hiring summer associates are familiar concerns for law students now, but these issues also affected lawyers who faced a recession when they graduated from law school in the early 1990s.
Praising new judicial selections
The Hoosier legal community is publicly praising the newest nominees for the state's federal bench as good choices, particularly for those interested in seeing a more diverse judiciary.
Johnsen to be reconsidered for controversial national position
After her nomination to head the Office of Legal Counsel was returned to the president at the end of 2009, an Indiana University Maurer School of Law – Bloomington professor is expected to be renominated by President Barack Obama.
Provision in new bill would withhold ‘big’ wins from deadbeat parents
State lawmakers want to crack down on child support collections and make it tougher for deadbeat parents to not pay what's owed.
Bill seeks to repeal placements statute
Lawmakers are considering legislation that would repeal a last-minute 2009 special session provision that gave the Indiana Department of Child Services key control in deciding whether juveniles should be placed outside the state.
Appellate case ‘purgatory’ exists in Indiana’s government center basement
Outside of courtrooms, conference rooms, and law firm offices, there's a place that most lawyers don't often see but is an essential step in the process cases go through at the Indiana appellate level.
Summit spurs school-focused bill
A juvenile justice summit by the Indiana State Bar Association in August has led to the introduction of a bill that would change how students are treated in schools and hopefully decrease the number of school suspensions while increasing statewide graduation rates.
Parents, child service provider group sue DCS over subsidies
In a one-two punch, a pair of lawsuits filed a week apart in December hit the Indiana Department of Child Services square
in the gut over how the agency planned to reduce payment rates for foster and adoptive parents and juvenile service providers.
Boodt: U.S. Supreme Court journey offers many lessons
Last spring, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied USA Funds' petition for rehearing en banc in an important student loan bankruptcy case, my colleagues Joni Anderson and Julie Ragsdale recommended that USA Funds file a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States.
President, Senate move on Indiana nominations
Indiana's legal community got a mixed bag of gifts on Christmas Eve, as one former Hoosier attorney received Senate confirmation for an ambassadorship, a federal prosecutor in Hammond learned he might be promoted, and a Bloomington law professor got what amounts to a lump of coal as senators sent her nearly yearold nomination back to the president for reconsideration.
Prosecutor spokesman arrested for drunk driving
An attorney and spokesman for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office was arrested March 27 for drunk driving.
Key Senate committees meet during first week
In the first week after the Indiana General Assembly returned, lawmakers addressed several bills during two key committee meetings particularly relevant to the state's legal community.
Lawmakers criticize traffic court fines
A legislative committee this week unanimously approved a bill that would cap the fines a court could assess for traffic violations.
State funding of judges being explored
Lawmakers rejected a southern Indiana county's request this week for a new judge to run a family court, even though it proposes paying for it locally rather than with state money.
Candidate wants prosecutor to step down
Marion County Republican prosecutor candidate Mark Massa has called on Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, also a Republican, to step down in the wake of a five-month-long Indianapolis Business Journal investigation.
Justice ponders importance of party-line vote
As the Indiana Supreme Court justices considered the constitutionality of the state's voter ID law this week, one jurist wondered how much the legislative process might factor into the court's analysis of whether a statute is constitutional.