Lawmakers have passed a bill that allows the Indiana Department of Child Services to more efficiently collect delinquent child
support, including a gaming intercept requiring casinos to check whether gamers are on a state delinquency list before releasing
large jackpots to them.
A bill that incorporated suggestions from attendees and organizers of an Indiana State Bar Association-sponsored juvenile
justice summit last summer passed the Indiana Senate 45-3 Feb. 18.
The Indiana State Bar Association has learned it will receive the LexisNexis 2010 Community and Educational Outreach Award
for the “Summit on Racial Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System: A Statewide Dialogue,” which took place
in August 2009.
In what started at a summit hosted by the Indiana State Bar Association in August, House Enrolled Act 1193, which authorizes
a work study commission to consider various juvenile justice issues in Indiana, was signed by the governor March 17.
Long before he became Greenwood’s police chief, attorney Joe Pitcher recalls sitting as a special judge in town court and
facing an Unauthorized Practice of Law case that may be one of few like it in Indiana.
Hoosier lawyers and judges were kept on the edge of their seats as the Indiana General Assembly navigated its final days of
the session, reviving talk on two issues that have significant impact on the state’s judiciary and legal system.
More than a year since she was first nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee March
4 approved Indiana law professor Dawn Johnsen along party lines for the second time.
In the last days of the legislative session, lawmakers addressed funding proposals in HB 1154 on converting Marion County commissioners into magistrates and using a $35 fee on traffic infractions to pay for this; SB 307 that would allow a $50 fee on Bartholomew County traffic infractions to pay for a new Superior Court there; and SB 399 on capping traffic violation fines statewide.
Energy is one of the major issues environmentalists and lawyers who work with companies concerned about green technology are keeping an eye on during the 2010 Indiana legislative session.
In his 35 years as a lawyer-legislator, Sen. Richard Bray has thought about whether he should get involved in litigation because
of his role as an elected state official. While he doesn't recall this ever affecting his involvement on a case or legislation
before him, the veteran attorney from Martinsville, who practices with his son at The Bray Law Office, sees how it could present
problems.
An amended version of House Bill 1193, which came about as a result of a juvenile justice conference in August, passed out of the Senate's Judiciary Committee 6-1 Feb. 10. One major change in the bill approved by the committee was the deletion of the section about training for police officers who deal with juveniles on a regular basis.
For a little more than a year, Grant Superior Judge Mark Spitzer has presided over his local drug court and
has witnessed what he describes as remarkable results from the problem-solving court model.
State lawmakers want to crack down on child support collections and make it tougher for deadbeat parents to not pay what's owed.
Lawmakers are considering legislation that would repeal a last-minute 2009 special session provision that gave the Indiana Department of Child Services key control in deciding whether juveniles should be placed outside the state.
A juvenile justice summit by the Indiana State Bar Association in August has led to the introduction of a bill that would change how students are treated in schools and hopefully decrease the number of school suspensions while increasing statewide graduation rates.
In the first week after the Indiana General Assembly returned, lawmakers addressed several bills during two key committee meetings particularly relevant to the state's legal community.
A legislative committee this week unanimously approved a bill that would cap the fines a court could assess for traffic violations.
Lawmakers rejected a southern Indiana county's request this week for a new judge to run a family court, even though it proposes paying for it locally rather than with state money.
The Indiana General Assembly tried to end the session more than a week before the constitutional March 14 deadline, but impasses on school funding and unemployment insurance caused the legislators to miss their March 4 self-imposed deadline.
Although the deadline has passed to introduce new legislation, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak has called on legislators to find current bills that will allow amendments to statute in response to two separate car accidents involving police officers.