South Bend council urged to stop seeking police recordings
Two of the four South Bend police officers whose telephone recordings are at the center of a police wiretapping case want city council members to end their pursuit of those recordings.
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Attorney general sues county auditor accused of theft
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is suing former Owen County Auditor Angie M. Lawson to recover more than $380,000 in embezzled taxpayer funds. Lawson also faces criminal charges stemming from the same theft of public funds.
Questions over Greensburg police evidence could affect cases
A southeastern Indiana prosecutor says discrepancies uncovered during a State Police investigation of the Greensburg Police Department's evidence room could endanger 16 criminal cases.
Commissioner eyes vacant school as new Delaware County jail
A central Indiana county that has faced lawsuits and criticism for how it houses its inmates is being asked to consider building a new jail in a vacant school building.
Failure to file board record dooms claim for judicial review
A company that did not file the board record or request an extension of time to file the record within 30 days as required by the applicable judicial review statute should not have been allowed to proceed with its request for judicial review, the Indiana Court of Appeals held. The judges reversed the denial of the town of Pittsboro’s request to dismiss Ark Park LLC’s claims.
MacArthur Foundation pledges $75M toward fixing US jails
To reduce the number of people locked up in local jails around the U.S., the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced it plans to give $75 million to local jail officials working on ways to remove nonviolent offenders, people too poor to afford bail and the mentally ill from behind bars.
Fremont Town Court judge admonished for ex parte communication
A Steuben County town court judge who was admonished in 2012 for improper ex parte communications for assuming the role of prosecutor in a traffic infraction in her court has been admonished again for a similar violation.
Marion County justice complex decision could come at last minute
The Indianapolis City-County Council could push the closing of a $1.6 billion deal for a new criminal justice complex to the last minute.
Ex-Evansville official gets 4 years for money laundering
A federal judge has sentenced a former Evansville Redevelopment Commission member to four years in prison for money laundering.
Nativity lawsuit brings new county ordinance
Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved a “public forum ordinance” this week in response to the ongoing lawsuit over a nativity scene displayed on the county’s courthouse lawn during the holiday season.
COA: County Commissioners can’t amend fire district ordinance
Brown County commissioners who created a countywide fire district lost an appeal of a trial court order saying they had no authority to later amend the ordinance that had created the district.
Second Indy township official charged with embezzlement
Federal prosecutors have charged a Center Township official in Indianapolis with embezzling tens of thousands of dollars in Social Security payments intended for disabled and elderly recipients.
Housing agency, not court, ordered banned woman from properties
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a woman’s argument that the court imposed as part of her trespass sentence an order to stay away from any properties owned by the Indianapolis Housing Agency.
Artwork honoring Shepard has ‘stalled’
A plan by the inaugural class of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Leadership Development Academy to honor retired Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard has unraveled, and class members are preparing to consider several options for moving forward, including scrapping the project altogether.
Little Statehouse appetite exists for government reform
Indiana lawmakers set to reconvene next week aren't showing any signs they'll embrace some of the more sweeping changes to the structure of the state's local government proposed by a bipartisan commission.
UPDATE: City picks Paris-based group to build justice center
The city of Indianapolis will pay Paris-based WMB Heartland Justice Partners $1.6 billion over 35 years for a new justice center.
Eagle Creek deer hunt goes forward
A city-sponsored deer hunt at Indianapolis’ Eagle Creek Park will proceed this weekend after a judge refused to block the first such hunt in the park’s history.
St. Joseph County’s proposed abortion doctor law stalls
A push in South Bend to require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital has stalled.
$1.75B justice center could stretch budgets
Mayor Greg Ballard's office has said the city intends to pay no more than about $50 million a year over 35 years for a proposed criminal justice facility, bringing the cost to about $1.75 billion.
State seeks greater damages from township embezzler
The former Marion County Center Township accountant who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $340,000 also should pay the cost of investigating his wrongdoing, the Indiana State Board of Accounts says.