Late lawmaker’s husband dies while serving sentence for killing lawyer
The husband of a late Indiana legislator has died in state prison, where he was serving a 55-year sentence for the 2018 shooting death of a northwestern Indiana attorney.
Lake County
Articles
COVID surge forces some courts to, again, limit operations
Courts in Marion County and at least two other Indiana counties are suspending jury trials and reinstituting some restrictions in response to the surge of COVID-19 cases that continues to rise across the state.
COA splits over liquidated damages award in breach of contract suit
A dentist who was fired from her job just weeks after starting because she refused to lower her compensation could not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that she should get to keep more than $45,000 in liquidated damages from her breach of contract suit.
Hoosier schools receive federal grants to improve safety
Two Indiana school districts will be receiving grants from the $125 million the U.S. Department of Justice is offering to advance school safety under the Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018.
Do-over eminent domain opinion yields same result
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has released what it is calling a “substitute opinion” in the dispute between a property owner and the Gary Housing Authority, but while the court clarified one of the issues being reviewed, the outcome remained the same.
Swifter justice: AI management software for public defenders tackles media evidence faster, more efficiently
JusticeText, a cloud-based platform, is an artificial intelligence tool that pinpoints specific words or phrases from data revealed in body camera footage and recorded jail calls, eliminating the need for defense attorneys to sit for hours plucking through evidence.
7th Circuit affirms prison sentence for ex-Lake County sheriff Buncich
A former Lake County sheriff convicted of wire fraud and bribery will not have his 12-plus-year federal prison sentence reduced after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his appeal.
Judge pro tem appointed in Lake Superior Court
A judge pro tempore has been ordered to fill a vacancy in Lake Superior Court, the Indiana Supreme Court has announced.
Magistrate denies bail for 2 Indiana women in boy’s killing
A magistrate has denied bail for two northwest Indiana women charged with murdering a 10-year-old boy whose body had so many injuries a prosecutor said he was the defendants’ “punching bag.”
Tax Court reverts Hobart mall’s property tax assessments, finds neither party met burden of proof
Neither an assessor nor a longtime northern Indiana shopping mall met their burdens of proof in an appeal contesting tax assessments of the mall’s property for 2015 and 2016, the Indiana Tax Court concluded, ordering for the assessments to revert back to their 2010 value.
5 attorneys named finalists for Lake Superior vacancy
The Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission has selected five local attorneys as finalists to fill a vacancy on the Lake Superior Court as a lawsuit challenging the county’s judicial selection process proceeds.
COA reinstates much of Gary’s welcoming ordinance
The city of Gary can roll out the welcome mat once again after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found that much of its welcoming ordinance did not violate state law.
COA to hear oral arguments in medical privacy case for second time
A Lake County lawsuit alleging medical privacy violations when a dog groomer’s X-rays were shared in her workplace after her boss’s husband accessed them is heading back to the Court of Appeals of Indiana for arguments next week.
Plaintiffs trying to overturn Lake County JNC tap brakes on court proceeding as judicial selection moves forward
A federal court has granted a request by the plaintiffs challenging the judicial selection process in Lake County to toss their previously filed motion for a preliminary injunction, which sought to stop the local nominating commission from filling the superior court vacancy created by the death of Judge Diane Boswell. Meanwhile, the Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission is preparing for interviews with 12 candidates vying to fill the Lake Superior Court vacancy.
COA reinstates landlords’ tort claims against Hammond
A lawsuit against the city of Hammond brought by a group of corporate property landlords has been reinstated after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found the Lake Superior Court erred when it ruled their tort claims were filed in an untimely manner.
Speedy trial OK’d for Lake Co. murder suspect who fled transport van
A murder suspect who escaped from a prisoner transport van last year when its driver stopped at a fast-food restaurant in northwest Indiana will stand trial in January in a Chicago man’s slaying.
Supreme Court announces pilot program allowing news broadcasts in select courts
The Indiana Supreme Court announced last week that members of the news media will be permitted to broadcast certain in-person proceedings in five Indiana trial courts through a new pilot project starting Dec. 1.
NW Indiana man charged in taxidermy thefts from DNR office
A northwest Indiana man allegedly broke into a state office at a fish and wildlife area twice in 2018 and stole taxidermy animals, ammunition and other items, authorities said.
Broadcasting of in-person trial court proceedings permitted under new pilot program, Supreme Court announces
Members of the news media will be permitted to broadcast in-person proceedings in five Indiana trial courtrooms through a new pilot project, the Indiana Supreme Court announced Monday. The pilot also allows the rebroadcasting of live-streamed proceedings.
Lake Co. opponents of judicial selection ask court to stop process to fill Boswell vacancy
In their lawsuit contesting judicial selection in Lake County, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott along with the city of Hammond filed on Friday a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to stop the Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission from moving forward with the process to select a replacement for the late Judge Diane Boswell, who died in October.