‘Ordered freedom’: AG Rokita sets agenda focused on ‘liberty’
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita recently sat down with Indiana Lawyer to answer questions about his first 100 days in office and his agenda for the next four years.
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After veto override, governor turns to courts
In the legal brawl between Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana General Assembly over who has the power to call the Statehouse into a special session, the Marion Superior Court will first have to determine which lawyers are actually representing the executive branch.
Ruesch: Insurance industry responses to 2020 and future trends
As the workforce continues to adapt to and accept this “new normal,” the insurance industry is also adjusting and evolving and introducing new methods of doing business that will impact in-house and outside practitioners alike. Here are some 2021 industry trends that we will likely see.
Suit seeks direct election of Lake County judges, says merit selection discriminatory
A federal lawsuit filed by the Democratic mayor of Hammond and a Lake County attorney argues that Indiana’s judicial nominating system that appoints judges in the state’s four most diverse counties is racially discriminatory. Judges in Lake County should be directly elected or judges statewide should be appointed through merit selection, the suit says.
Critics say Indiana COVID-19 law allows nursing home neglect
Advocates for nursing home residents say they worry a new Indiana law expanding COVID-19 liability protections for health care providers will effectively block many lawsuits over neglect and substandard treatment that weren’t caused by the pandemic.
Hospital indemnity claim against doctors subject to med-mal act, COA rules
Indemnity claims brought by one health care provider against another are subject to the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, finding the language of the MMA is not limited to claims brought by patients or their representatives. The court issued its ruling in a case involving a dispute between a hospital and independent radiologists.
AG Rokita files motion to strike governor’s lawsuit
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a motion to strike Friday to have the Marion Superior Court toss the governor’s lawsuit over executive powers, arguing in part, “the Governor cannot merely sue the legislature over laws he does not like.”
Indiana ‘abortion reversal’ bill signed by governor
Doctors in Indiana would be required to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions about a disputed treatment for potentially stopping the abortion process under a measure that’s been signed into law.
Census Bureau: 70% of voters cast ballots early or by mail
More than two-thirds of all U.S. citizens of the voting age population participated in the 2020 presidential election, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report, and 69% of those cast ballots by mail or early in-person voting — methods that Republicans in some states are curtailing.
Lawyers question Rokita’s actions in lawsuit filed by governor
Attorney General Todd Rokita’s move to insert himself into the dispute between Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana General Assembly over executive power is being challenged by members of the legal profession who see the state’s top lawyer as violating his oath and overstepping his authority.
Wary Supreme Court weighs student’s Snapchat profanity case
A wary Supreme Court on Wednesday weighed whether public schools can discipline students for things they say off campus, worrying about overly restricting speech on the one hand and leaving educators powerless to deal with bullying on the other.
Supreme Court wrestles with New Jersey pipeline case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday wrestled with how to resolve a clash between the state of New Jersey and a pipeline company over land the company needs for a natural gas pipeline.
SCOTUS to settle circuit split in foreign arbitration case
An aircraft engine fire that sparked a foreign arbitration discovery battle between an American manufacturer and a British company over a 150-year-old law is headed to the United States Supreme Court for clarification.
Stafford: Hoosiers may yet vote by mail; lawyers will vote by email
Indiana has no legitimate excuse to require “excuses” for registered voters who wish to cast an absentee ballot. The state is not our parent, and in the last vote, plenty of us determined that as grown adults we shouldn’t have to go through a ridiculous exercise of asking their permission. The last thing that ought to be is a law.
Student’s Snapchat profanity leads to high court speech case
Fourteen-year-old Brandi Levy was having that kind of day where she just wanted to scream. So she did, in a profanity-laced posting on Snapchat that has, improbably, ended up before the Supreme Court in the most significant case on student speech in more than 50 years.
Supreme Court notebook: David faces Goliaths over pipeline
On one side of an upcoming Supreme Court case over a proposed natural gas pipeline in New Jersey are two lawyers with more than 250 arguments between them. On the other is a lawyer for New Jersey who will be making his first Supreme Court appearance. It may be the greatest numerical mismatch in the history of the high court.
SCOTUS wants Indiana to respond to absentee voting suit
U.S. Supreme Court justices want Indiana to justify its absentee voting restrictions and have formally requested the Indiana Attorney General’s Office to respond to a constitutional challenge after the state previously waived its right to reply.
Schell: American Axle and issues with Section 101 patent eligibility
Should SCOTUS fail to take up the matter now or fail to address broader issues and provide a more cogent framework for Section 101 patent eligibility in its determination, I expect the next round of significant news on the subject to be Congress stepping in and acting.
Westfield Council votes to involve itself in legal fight between mayor, clerk-treasurer
The Westfield City Council on Monday decided to get more involved in the ongoing and expanding legal fight between the city’s mayor and clerk-treasurer by launching an investigation into the matter.
Judge upholds Indiana laws restricting wine deliveries
Indiana laws restricting the delivery of wine to consumers have been upheld by a federal judge who rejected constitutional challenges from an out-of-state retailer, in contrast to another recent ruling in a case challenging state alcohol licensing laws.