County wants U.S. Supreme Court to hear church grants case
A New Jersey county wants the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that bars a longstanding practice of giving public historic preservation grants to churches.
Laws
Articles
Indiana joins lawsuit against Gary sanctuary city ordinance
A judge has allowed the state of Indiana to intervene in a lawsuit alleging the city of Gary’s sanctuary city ordinance violates state law. Attorney General Curtis Hill sought to have the state added as a plaintiff in the case against Gary officials.
AG Hill: Prosecutors have no say in defending Indiana abortion law
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is hitting back at three county prosecutors who have declined to defend the state in its most recent abortion-related lawsuit, saying the prosecutors have no authority to determine how the case proceeds. Prosecutors in Marion, Lake and Monroe counties said Wednesday the ceded the merits of a case challenging a new law that would require reporting of “abortion complications.”
Marion, Lake, Monroe prosecutors won’t defend abortion law
Three Indiana prosecutors in counties with Planned Parenthood facilities have announced they will not defend the state in a recently filed lawsuit challenging a 2018 abortion law.
Justices: PCR not available to sex offender barred from son’s school
A Howard County father is currently unable to attend his son’s school activities after the Indiana Supreme Court denied his bid for post-conviction relief from a law that bars serious sex offenders from entering school property. However, the court also pointed the father to a possible alternative that could provide the relief he seeks.
ACLU, Planned Parenthood sue over abortion complications reporting law
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky is once again challenging an Indiana abortion law it says is “a cruel intimidation tactic,” this time taking aim at a 2018 piece of legislation that was signed into law less than a month ago.
Special session to debate school safety, tax changes
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Friday that he is calling lawmakers back to the Statehouse for a special session that will begin May 14.
Patients, doctors concerned about new Indiana opioid limits
Some patients and doctors in Indiana are worried that increased restrictions imposed in response to the national opioid epidemic may reduce access to necessary medication.
Trump pardons former Cheney aide Scooter Libby
President Donald Trump issued a full pardon Friday to I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.
AP: Indiana GOP locked candidate out of database
Senate candidate Todd Rokita likely violated ethics laws as Indiana’s secretary of state by repeatedly accessing a Republican donor database from his government office, prompting party officials to lock him out of the system until he angrily complained, three former GOP officials told The Associated Press.
Law limiting short-term rental regulations by cities may face test from Carmel, others
As the popularity of short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO has increased, local governments across the country have stepped in to regulate when and where their residents can lease their homes to temporary guests. Indiana cities have been no exception, but the 2018 General Assembly limited the extent to which municipalities can regulate the local short-term rental industry.
Indiana woman wins $35 million verdict in pelvic mesh lawsuit
A northern Indiana jury returned a $35 million verdict March 8 for a woman injured by a transvaginal mesh implant in a trial that is believed to the seventh mesh lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon, Inc.
As state allows for professional licenses, long-term national DACA solution remains elusive
With all this uncertainty, one thing DACA recipients won’t have to worry about anymore — in Indiana, at least — is obtaining state professional licenses. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Senate Enrolled Act 419 on March 21, which allowed “Dreamers” to apply for professional certifications.
IU McKinney profs research opioid effects on law, policy
Officially announced in February, Grand Challenges is a 16-project program aimed at preventing, reducing and treating addictions throughout the Hoosier state.
Autonomous vehicle regulation stalls out in statehouse
Gov. Eric Holcomb last month called for a special session of the Indiana General Assembly to address some of the unfinished business, but self-driving cars will have to wait.
Carmel thumbs nose at Indiana’s new short-term rentals law
Officials in one of Indiana’s wealthiest cities are thumbing their noses at a new state law intended to curtail local governments’ authority to regulate short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, raising the possibility of a court fight.
Holcomb signs bills allowing CBD oil, licenses for ‘Dreamers’
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed bill that allow for the widespread sale of a cannabis-derived oil as well as legislation to lift a prohibition on immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children from obtaining state professional licenses.
Justices to hear sentencing, sex offender, parental rights cases
The Indiana Supreme Court will consider sentencing practices, sex offender restrictions and parental rights when it hears oral arguments in three cases Thursday.
Employees’ actions outside the workplace increasingly coming to employers’ attention
The question of when leisure time becomes the boss’ business popped into the public conversation after the protest last summer in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photos of the individuals who marched with white supremacist groups were circulated online, and several lost their jobs as a result.
Miami County considers wind farm restrictions
Miami County in northern Indiana is considering new restrictions that could hinder a proposed wind farm that would bring 75 power generating turbines to the area.