Indiana county to make money off of bad drivers
A northwest Indiana county has agreed to sell court records to a data-mining company that plans to supply them to insurers who will use them to raise rates for bad drivers.
Lake County
Articles
Dentist’s reputation, privacy and identity are not chattel under T.R. 75(A)(2)
The Indiana Court of Appeals decided that the preferred venue of a woman’s lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend alleging defamation and other claims is in Marion County where the man resides and not in Lake County where she works. The opinion hinged upon whether there were chattels involved.
Justices end suit against Gary Railcats over foul-ball injury
A fan who suffered fractured facial bones and was blinded in one eye after she was struck by a foul ball at a Gary SouthShore Railcats baseball game may not proceed with a lawsuit against the team, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Lawsuits say Munster cardiologist inserted unneeded defibrillators
A Lake County cardiologist sued for performing surgeries to insert heart defibrillators that two patients say they didn’t need may have performed other such unnecessary procedures, attorneys say.
Lawyer disciplined over third-party site
A recent Indiana attorney disciplinary order quickly prompted some analysts to predict the ruling would have a chilling effect on lawyers here and around the country. But the case also involved pursuit of discipline that a court-appointed hearing officer called “disconcerting.”
COA heads to northern Indiana for ‘Appeals on Wheels’
The Indiana Court of Appeals will travel to northern Indiana Wednesday to hear arguments in Lake and St. Joseph counties involving two criminal cases.
Justices leave man’s life sentence intact
The Indiana Supreme Court Wednesday upheld a Lake County man’s sentence of life in prison without parole for the murder of a co-worker during a robbery. Ronnie Jamel Rice claimed the trial court improperly relied on non-statutory aggravators when imposing his sentence.
Attorney reprimand based on association with ‘Law Tigers’
The Indiana Supreme Court privately reprimanded a Lake County attorney Friday for making misleading communications regarding legal services and not including his office address in a public communications. The charges stem from his affiliation with a national for-profit organization that franchises its registered trademarks, including “Law Tigers,” to law firms around the country.
Court splits over release of college transcript
A divided panel on the Indiana Court of Appeals dismissed Ball State University’s appeal of the order that it release the transcript of a student who left the school and owes tuition. The student’s mother added the university to her petition seeking to require her ex-husband to contribute to their child’s college expenses.
District Court properly handles expert testimony by non-expert witnesses
Although neither witness called to testify in a criminal trial was an expert, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the District Court did not err by barring the testimony of the defense witness while allowing the statements of the government witness.
COA: Adoption petition should remain in Superior Court
The Lake Superior Court was not required under the county’s case allocation plan to transfer an adoption petition to juvenile court where termination of parental rights proceedings are pending involving the same children, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Evidence of victim’s prior offenses rightly excluded
A man convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison for a brutal attack that left his 77-year-old victim hospitalized for months failed to persuade the Court of Appeals that evidence of the victim’s prior offenses had been wrongly excluded at his trial.
Lake County bar leader’s vision for year ahead includes looking back
Michael Tolbert is making history as the new president of the Lake County Bar Association in more ways than being the organization’s first African-American leader.
Indiana Supreme Court appoints attorney to fill Judge Brown’s post
Indianapolis criminal defense attorney David Cook has been appointed as judge pro tempore to fill the duties of suspended Marion Superior Judge Kimberly Brown.
Longtime Lake Superior judge dies at 78
Lake Superior Judge Gerald N. Svetanoff, 78, died Wednesday. Svetanoff was the longest-serving Lake Superior judge at the time of his death.
Child Support Court being reopened in Gary
Although an appeal is pending in the Indiana Court of Appeals, the child support court that had been consolidated to Crown Point in early 2013 is moving back to Gary.
Woman’s 35-year sentence upheld following death of stepson
A Lake Superior judge did not abuse her discretion in sentencing a woman to 35 years for neglect of a dependent after the woman’s stepson died following years of abuse.
Former Lake County clerk’s convictions upheld by 7th Circuit
Thomas R. Philpot, the former Lake County clerk convicted of taking more than $24,000 in federal funds earmarked for child support and using that money to pay himself bonuses, will not receive a new trial, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held this week.
Cappas appointed Lake Superior judge
Longtime Highland criminal defense attorney Sam Cappas has been appointed judge in the Lake Superior Criminal Division.
Failure to object to anonymous jury not ineffective assistance
A man convicted of murdering his 39-week-pregnant estranged wife cannot claim he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to object to an anonymous jury, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.