Indiana lawmaker seeking end of state’s US Senate primaries
A Republican state senator is pushing for the elimination of Indiana’s primary elections for U.S. Senate and proposing that political parties select candidates at conventions.
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Republicans vote down another Indiana teacher pay boost plan
A Democratic proposal to immediately boost Indiana teacher pay by $100 million a year by stretching out payments to a teacher pension fund was rejected Thursday by a Republican-controlled committee.
Indiana utilities would be prevented from shutting down coal-fired plants under new bill
Indianapolis Power & Light’s Harding Street station will soon shut down its last coal-powered turbine, for conversion to natural-gas-generated electricity.
Source: Dershowitz, Starr on Trump legal team as impeachment trial opens
President Donald Trump’s legal team will include former Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, the former independent counsel who led the Whitewater investigation into President Bill Clinton, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Trump impeachment trial begins Tuesday.
Krupp enters AG race: ‘Time for Hoosiers to hire a new lawyer’
Indiana State Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Krupp announced Monday he will challenge incumbent Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill for the Republican Party nomination, saying he will promote “leadership, integrity and results.” Krupp joins a crowded field seeking to topple the embattled AG.
White House considering dramatic expansion of travel ban
The White House is considering dramatically expanding its much-litigated travel ban to additional countries amid a renewed election-year focus on immigration by President Donald Trump, according to six people familiar with the deliberations.
Revenue director challenging Indiana attorney general
The head of the Indiana Department of Revenue has decided to challenge embattled state Attorney General Curtis Hill’s bid seeking the Republican nomination for the office. Adam Krupp has said he would resign as the revenue department’s commissioner by the end of January to run full-time for attorney general.
Indiana redistricting critics keeping up push for changes
Critics of how Indiana politicians dice up the state for congressional and legislative districts know they are running out of time for changing that process with the once-a-decade U.S. census less than three months away.
Justices hear Holcomb v. Bloomington annexation appeal
Arguments were heard Thursday before the state’s highest court in an annexation dispute between the City of Bloomington and the Indiana Governor’s Office, with the city defending its award of summary judgment and Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office arguing for a reversal.
Religious retaliation, accommodation claims to continue against Brownsburg schools
A federal lawsuit alleging Brownsburg schools discriminated against a former teacher who refused to address transgender students by their chosen first names will continue with claims brought under Title VII, though 11 other state and federal constitutional claims against the school district were dismissed. The judge also cautioned both sides against efforts to expand the issues in the case to nonparty students.
McConnell says he has votes to set rules for Trump’s trial
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he has the votes to start President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial as soon as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi releases the documents, winning support from GOP senators to postpone a decision on calling witnesses. The announcement Tuesday was significant, enabling McConnell to bypass for now Democratic demands for new testimony as he launches the third impeachment trial in the nation’s history.
Native American adoption dispute puts decades-old statute on defensive
The effort that Indiana joined to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act, which seeks to preserve Native American families, is headed for another round in appellate court as the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals prepares for a rehearing en banc following a lower court’s ruling that the 40-plus-year-old federal statute was unconstitutional.
Fearnow, Modisett sign lawyers letter refuting McConnell on impeachment trial
Two prominent Hoosiers have joined hundreds of attorneys who signed a letter condemning Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s handling of a possible impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
Appeals court weighs Mueller grand jury access for Congress
Democrats in Congress are seeking access to secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, arguing in court Friday that it is relevant to President Donald Trump’s impeachment and could even be a basis for additional accusations against him.
Indiana GOP holding off teacher pay action in 2020 session
Members of the Republican-dominated General Assembly return Monday to the Statehouse in Indianapolis for their 2020 session, during which they will face continued calls from teacher unions and Democrats for better teacher pay and less reliance on standardized student test scores for evaluation of schools and educators.
Senator tries again to ban Indiana vouchers over gay firings
A proposal aimed at banning private schools that discriminate against gay employees and students from receiving Indiana voucher program money is being backed by the state’s Republican school superintendent.
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.
Indiana asks SCOTUS for ‘urgently needed clarity’ in parental-notice abortion case
Calling on the nation’s highest court to provide “urgently needed clarity” to caselaw governing abortion laws related to minors, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General is asking the Supreme Court to grant certiorari to a case challenging Indiana’s “mature minors” parental notice law.
Legal marijuana sales may spark Midwest interstate tension
Retailers legally selling marijuana for the past month in Michigan say they have drawn customers from surrounding Midwestern states where the drug remains illegal and, as Illinois prepares to joins the recreational market on Wednesday, officials are renewing warnings to consumers against carrying such products over state lines.
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.