Rush’s debut State of the Judiciary address set
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush will deliver her first State of the Judiciary address before a joint session of the General Assembly next week.
Indiana General Assembly
Articles
Bill would let Hoosiers refuse gay-wedding services
Legislation that supporters contend is needed to protect Indiana residents with strong religious beliefs by allowing them to refuse services for same-sex weddings is drawing fire from gay rights groups and others who say it would legalize discrimination.
Bill seeks to give Indiana appellate judges more time on the bench
Sen. James Buck is again pushing to increase the mandatory retirement age for Indiana appellate judges.
Impact of Indiana’s criminal code changes unclear
Indiana's prosecutors and judges are still adjusting to sweeping changes to the state's criminal code intended to send more low-level, nonviolent criminals to community corrections programs and jails instead of state prisons.
Little Statehouse appetite exists for government reform
Indiana lawmakers set to reconvene next week aren't showing any signs they'll embrace some of the more sweeping changes to the structure of the state's local government proposed by a bipartisan commission.
Indiana senator plans medical marijuana proposal
A state senator says she plans to push for the legalization of medicinal marijuana in Indiana.
Frustrations with patent trolls spark push for pest control
Three years after passing the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act which overhauled the U.S. patent system, Congress and state legislatures have been introducing bills that primarily seek to reform the process by clamping down on so-called patent trolls.
Death records law causing headache for genealogists
Although the Indiana Supreme Court recently confirmed that death certificates listing the cause of death are public records, the state is continuing to grapple with questions over privacy and online access to the documents.
Senate president says funding for We the People will continue
Praising the We the People curriculum for instilling a sense of civic responsibility in the next generation, Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long pledged that state funding for the program would continue.
Hamilton County seeks an out to avoid referendum for renovation
Hamilton County leaders are asking state legislators for relief from a 2008 law that requires all capital projects costing more than $12 million be put to a vote.
ISBA seeks malpractice time-limit legislation
A proposal adopted by the Indiana State Bar Association's House of Delegates in October has yet to be formalized, but it recommends legislation that would limit malpractice liability for attorneys to two years after discovery of an error or not more than three years after the conclusion of representation.
Judicial officers in demand
Seven counties are asking the Legislature for 11 magistrates to handle increasing caseloads.
Indiana ethics chief seeks changes after scandals
Indiana Inspector General David Thomas has published a series of ethics reforms, asking for improved disclosure and new rules for state officials after a trio of Statehouse scandals.
Indiana lawmakers sworn in on Organization Day
Members of the General Assembly took their oaths of office Tuesday as a part of Organization Day formalities and talked about some of their plans for when they return to work full-time in January.
New Indiana state senator sued by ex-employer
A newly elected Indiana state senator is being sued by his stepmother's company over allegations that he misspent about $55,000 on himself.
Big GOP wins create questions for Indiana Democrats
Indiana Democrats are looking for places to rebuild after an election drubbing that saw Republicans capture all three statewide offices on the ballot, build on an already overwhelming supermajority in the state Senate and protect their supermajority in the House.
Second chance law needs a second look
Attorneys say Indiana’s expungement law still has issues that the Legislature needs to fix.
Senator seeks stiffer punishment for decapitations
The chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee says Indiana needs stronger penalties for decapitation.
Legislative committee recommends making annexations more difficult
The legislative committee examining Indiana’s annexation laws underscored how complex and difficult the issue is when committee members looked at the laws Wednesday. The members took a third of the time allotted for the meeting to decide that a remonstrance should succeed if a simple majority of property owners oppose a municipality’s effort to incorporate their land.
Lawmakers in no rush to fix Marion County’s judicial selection process
Marion County’s unique power-sharing judicial-election system won’t be fixed anytime soon, even though a federal judge has ruled the four-decade-old system is unconstitutional.