Lake County - The Indiana Lawyer

Plenty of help-wanted signs as lawyer jobs go unfilled

February 2, 2022 | Marilyn Odendahl

The January edition of the Lake County Bar Association’s monthly newsletter, The Minute Sheet, showed just how fierce the ongoing war for talent has gotten in the legal profession — 21 help wanted ads had been posted primarily by northwest Indiana law firms looking for attorneys. The extensive classified section in the newsletter reflects the need for more attorneys that law firms around the state and across the country say they have because of an increased workload.

Appellate court dismisses Lake County, sheriff’s department from complaint filed by man who was tased

January 20, 2022 | Marilyn Odendahl

Plaintiffs who changed counsel and amended their complaint in their lawsuit against a Lake County sheriff’s deputy will not get to include new defendants because the Court of Appeals of Indiana found they failed to show that the omission of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Lake County in the original complaint was a mistake.

Criminal recklessness conviction tossed for double jeopardy after woman fires shots inside home

January 20, 2022 | Jordan Morey

A woman who fired gunshots inside a residence while family members were inside will have one of her convictions of criminal recklessness thrown out after the Court of Appeals of Indiana partially reversed on double jeopardy grounds.

Lake County halts jury trials through Jan. 31 over COVID-19

January 13, 2022 | Associated Press

Jury trials have been halted through Jan. 31 in Indiana’s second most populous county because of rising local infection rates and hospitalizations from COVID-19, a judge said Wednesday.

Veteran Indiana legislator Mrvan stepping down from Senate seat

January 13, 2022 | Associated Press

One of Indiana’s longest-serving state senators has decided to step down immediately from the Legislature.

Lake Co. sheriff indicted on felony, misdemeanor charges

January 7, 2022 | Associated Press

A northwest Indiana sheriff indicted on charges of resisting law enforcement and reckless driving has denied the allegations, blaming them on a “political witch hunt.”

Late lawmaker’s husband dies while serving sentence for killing lawyer

January 7, 2022 | Associated Press

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.

COVID surge forces some courts to, again, limit operations

January 6, 2022 | Marilyn Odendahl

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

December 30, 2021 | Katie Stancombe

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

December 29, 2021 | IL Staff

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

December 27, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

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

December 22, 2021 | Katie Stancombe

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

December 21, 2021 | Jordan Morey

A former Lake County sheriff convicted of wire fraud and bribery will not have his 12-plus-year federal prison sentence reduced after the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his appeal.

Judge pro tem appointed in Lake Superior Court

December 16, 2021 | IL Staff

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

December 16, 2021 | Associated Press

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

December 14, 2021 | Katie Stancombe

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

December 14, 2021 | IL Staff

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

December 10, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

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

December 9, 2021 | IL Staff

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

December 8, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl and Katie Stancombe

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.

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