Tippecanoe Co. prosecutor to lead prosecutors’ association
Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington will serve as president of the Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Inc. in 2020 following his recent election to the post.
Justices/Judges
Articles
Roberts: Judges working to promote civics, impartial courts
Federal judges are taking up the challenge to educate Americans about how their government works at a time when false information can spread instantaneously on social media, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Tuesday in his annual year-end report.
Roberts will tap his inner umpire in impeachment trial
America’s last prolonged look at Chief Justice John Roberts came 14 years ago, when he told senators during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing that judges should be like baseball umpires, impartially calling balls and strikes. His hair grayer, the 64-year-old Roberts will return to the public eye as he makes the short trip from the Supreme Court to the Senate to preside over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
2 judges back on bench following fight-related suspensions
Two southern Indiana judges are back on the bench after completing their suspensions for a downtown Indianapolis fight and double-shooting that followed a night of bar hopping. Clark Circuit Judge Brad Jacobs and Crawford Circuit Judge Sabrina Bell were reinstated to the bench Monday following 30-day suspensions that took effect Nov. 22.
Illinois man gets 55 years in stabbing of cousin in Indiana
An Illinois man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison in the 2017 murder of his cousin, who was stabbed 63 times and found near a road in Indiana. Derrick Lavelle Wandrick, 36, was sentenced in Kosciusko Circuit Court Monday for the murder of 21-year-old David Lamont Strowder Jr.
Courts as conveners: Task force led by Rush releases recommendations for judicial response to opioid crisis
The National Judicial Opioid Task Force was created in 2017 to delve into ways the judiciary could get a handle on the opioid crisis. Co-chaired by Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, the task force’s work culminated late last month in the release of a report that includes four findings and six recommendations for how courts can respond to the current drug scourge and be better prepared for the next addiction crisis.
‘Kid from a cornfield’: Goff brings community mentality to Supreme Court bench
He describes himself as “a kid from a cornfield.” And for Justice Christopher Goff, ties to his cornfield community run deep.
Chief deputy prosecutor to fill coming Hancock Superior vacancy
A chief deputy prosecutor will become a Hancock County Superior Court judge, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Friday. Marie D. Castetter will succeed Hancock Superior Court 1 Judge Terry Snow, who will retire Dec. 31.
Holcomb names Cass County prosecutor Swaim as new judge
Cass County Prosecutor Lisa L. Swaim has been appointed to the Indiana trial court bench, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Wednesday, naming her to succeed the late Cass Superior Judge Richard A. Maughmer.
Love of litigation: Slaughter recalls how writing led him to the bench
Justice Geoffrey Slaughter thought he’d be a transactional lawyer. But then he discovered litigation. The justice recently sat down with Indiana Lawyer to discuss his time on the bench, the latest installment in IL’s Meet the Justices series.
Kavanaugh avoids controversy in first major appearance
Justice Brett Kavanaugh called himself grateful and optimistic Thursday, avoiding controversy in his first major public appearance since his stormy Supreme Court confirmation a year ago.
Holcomb appoints DeBoer to fill coming Porter Circuit vacancy
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb appointed a magistrate judge and former deputy prosecutor to a judicial vacancy in the Porter Circuit Court, his office announced Wednesday.
Honoring the honorable: Marshall added, Dred Scott author removed from Southern District mural
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, arguably best known for authoring the notorious 1857 majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sanford, used to be featured in an Indiana Southern District Court mural. But his name was recently replaced with “Marshall,” representing longest-serving Chief Justice John Marshall and Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, the court’s first African-American justice.
Parrish: Students find clerkships in smaller counties rewarding
This summer’s Rural Justice Initiativesought to expose students who are committed to public service to different facets of rural and smaller-city practice while helping trial court judges with their heavy workloads in counties where that help is needed most. The goal was to underscore to students the benefits of clerking after graduation, to help improve access to courts and expand legal services, and to inspire some students to consider pursuing careers in rural Indiana.
Judges involved in Indianapolis shooting suspended without pay
The three judges involved in a night of drinking that ended in gunfire in downtown Indianapolis have each been suspended without pay from their southern Indiana benches. The Indiana Supreme Court order issued Tuesday marks the conclusion of the judicial discipline cases against the judges.
Senators seeking applications after Springmann announces senior status
Indiana’s senators are taking applications for an upcoming judicial vacancy after Northern District Court Chief Judge Theresa Lazar Springmann announced she will soon take senior status.
‘Irritated’ judge again ordered to make immigration findings for teen girl
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a southern Indiana judge for the second time to make required findings regarding the immigration status of a teen girl originally from Guatemala, this time spelling out those findings for the jurist who refused to do so.
Suspect in judges’ shooting pleads guilty to battery
One of the two men charged in a violent altercation with two southern Indiana judges has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery. The nephew of the alleged gunman in the May 1 shooting was sentenced to six months of community corrections followed by a year of probation.
Study panel urges new courts, magistrate judges in 6 counties
A legislative study committee has given a favorable recommendation to the Indiana General Assembly to add new judicial resources in six counties.
Three judges involved in Indianapolis shooting now face discipline
Three judges involved in a May shooting in downtown Indianapolis are all now facing judicial discipline charges. Clark Circuit Judges Andrew Adams and Bradley Jacobs and Crawford Circuit Magistrate Judge Sabrina Bell each were charged Friday by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications in relation to the May 1 shooting at a downtown Indianapolis White Castle, and the events leading up to the shooting.