Murder convictions ineligible for expungement, appeals court rules
An Indiana trial court properly denied expungement to an out-of-state inmate convicted of murder in Indiana, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Lake County
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Senate panel narrowly advances Lake, St. Joe judicial nominating bill
A bill that would change how superior court judges are nominated in Lake and St. Joseph counties was uniformly opposed by lawyers and judges from those counties in a Senate hearing Wednesday but narrowly advanced on a 5-4 vote.
COA upholds admission of medical bills in $0 pain-and-suffering verdict
Evidentiary rulings that led to a $0 jury verdict for a man who was injured in a car crash were upheld Wednesday by the Indiana Court of Appeals. The case drew participation from the Indiana plaintiff and defense bars.
Lake, St. Joseph judicial selection bill set for hearing Wednesday
Legislation that has drawn fire from bar associations and members of the legal community who say proposed changes to judicial appointments would politicize the trial court benches in Lake and St. Joseph counties will be heard Wednesday by a Senate committee.
Iowa man gets 45 years in killing outside Gary gas station
An Iowa man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty in the 2015 death of an Illinois man fatally shot outside a Gary gas station.
Public warned to avoid Hammond lake where waterfowl died
State environmental officials are warning the public to avoid a northwestern Indiana lake while authorities investigate the deaths of dozens of ducks and other waterfowl in the area.
Candy maker entitled to judgment, but not fees, after woman’s employment sours
A northern Indiana sweets shop whose relationship with an employee turned sour is entitled to summary judgment in the former employee’s lawsuit filed after her smartphone was wiped clean by the company. However, the confectionery has not demonstrated that it is entitled to attorney fees.
McDermott: Lake, St. Joseph judiciary bill raises questions
The undeniable truth is that there is a long legislative history in this nation of powerful majorities diminishing and silencing the voices of minorities. While I have no reason to believe the motive of the current judicial selection legislation for Lake and St. Joseph counties is racial, this law will undoubtedly have a disproportionally negative effect on citizens who happen to be racial minorities.
Bills for new judicial resources advance, but bid to cut Delaware Co. court draws ire
A bill to add a court in Hamilton County and judicial officers elsewhere has passed the Indiana Senate, as has a measure to allow city and town courts to keep certain administrative fees. A measure to revoke a county court, however, is drawing pushback.
Black caucus calls for reprimands, implicit bias training after House altercations
The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus is calling for lawmaker reprimands, implicit bias training and member safety measures in response to a heated Indiana House session last week that featured allegations of racism, on-the-floor boos and lawmaker confrontations in the halls and a restroom.
Finalists for St. Joseph Superior Court resubmitted to Holcomb
Gov. Eric Holcomb has been presented a second time with the same slate of nominees to fill a vacancy on the St. Joseph Superior Court, potentially curing an injunction that had blocked the governor’s appointment after a local commission member sued, claiming two fellow members were ineligible.
Lake County seeks repayment for police fugitive manhunt
A northwestern Indiana county is seeking repayment of more than $30,000 from a private transport company for a manhunt police mounted after a fugitive escaped while being extradited from Texas.
Records: DNA links man to 1992 killing of Gary woman, girl, 4
A Tennessee man charged in the July 1992 killings of an Indiana woman and her 4-year-old daughter was linked to the deaths by a new analysis of DNA collected from the mother’s body, court records show.
Lake County Bar: Judicial-selection bill an ‘abomination,’ ‘political power play’
The Lake County Bar Association on Thursday issued the most damning rebuke to date of a bill in the Indiana General Assembly that would alter how judges in that county and St. Joseph County are selected. The northwest Indiana county’s bar called the bill “an abomination” and “a political power play by parties not even within Lake County to take even more power away from the people of Lake County in selecting their judges.”
ISBA opposes bill to change judicial selection in Lake, St. Joseph counties
For the second time this year, the Indiana State Bar Association is publicly opposing legislation targeting judicial selection in Indiana, this time speaking against a bill that it says would “unnecessarily change a working system” for judicial selection in Lake and St. Joseph counties.
Appeals court rejects bid to cut 120-year sentence in Gary double-slaying
A Gary man convicted of a 2003 double-murder failed to convince an appeals panel that his 120-year sentence should be reduced. The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected the arguments Wednesday.
Web Exclusive: Lozano Bar supports Latino lawyers with personal, professional resources
Shared experiences bring people together. That’s particularly true of the members of the Rudy Lozano Bar Association, a northwest Indiana group dedicated to serving Latino legal professionals. Formerly known as the Northwest Indiana Hispanic Bar Association, the group filed articles of incorporation under its new name in February 2020. Its namesake is the late federal Judge Rodolfo “Rudy” Lozano, who died in July 2018.
Legislation takes aim at judicial selection
A bill in the Legislature would restructure the composition of judicial nominating commissions in Lake and St. Joseph counties. Currently, an even number of attorneys and nonattorney members are appointed by local stakeholders, but the proposal would reduce attorney representation, which has prompted a backlash in the northern Indiana legal communities.
Tennessee man charged in 1992 slayings of Gary woman, daughter, 4
A Tennessee man has been charged with murder in the 1992 fatal shootings of a Gary woman and her 4-year-old daughter, the FBI said Monday.
Bill removing lawyers from Lake, St. Joseph judicial panels draws more fire
Efforts to amend a bill that would fundamentally change the composition of the judicial nominating commissions in Lake and St. Joseph counties failed in the Indiana House on Tuesday, setting up the controversial legislation for a possible final House vote next week.