After long medical marijuana hearing, lawmakers make no recommendation
Legislators halted any progress of legalizing medical marijuana in Indiana on Thursday after a study committee failed to agree on how to move the issue forward.
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Attorney-photographer loses suit against IPAC director
A McCordsville attorney and hobbyist photographer who has sued dozens of people for the alleged infringement of his photo of the Indianapolis skyline has lost key rulings in the most recent order in his various cases.
Prosecutors want ex-Indiana town marshal jailed until trial
Prosecutors are asking a judge to lock up the former Van Buren town marshal until his trial on charges that he allegedly took medication from a home while in uniform.
Ex-superintendent of Gary schools faces misconduct charges
The former Gary Community Schools superintendent has been charged with double-billing the district for about $1,200 in expenses. Lake County prosecutors filed felony theft and official misconduct charges on Friday against Cheryl Pruitt, who resigned as superintendent in February after a state-appointed emergency manager took over the district as it faced more than $100 million in debt.
Indiana gets more anti-violent crime funding
Nearly $657,000 has been allocated to the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana this year to continue efforts to reduce violent crime in the state and nationwide.
Corydon man arrested after taking pellet gun into Indiana school
Authorities say a southern Indiana man has been arrested after walking into a school with a pellet gun. Harrison County Prosecutor Otto Schalk said he’s charging 29-year-old Mike Leighty, Jr. of Corydon with felony intimidation and disorderly conduct following his arrest Friday at Corydon Elementary School.
Indiana teen charged in suffocation deaths of his 2 siblings
A 14-year-old southeastern Indiana boy charged in the suffocation deaths of his two young siblings told investigators that he killed them so that they wouldn’t “have to live in the hell that he did,” prosecutors allege.
COA remands to reconsider resentencing bid
The Indiana Court of Appeals found that prosecutorial consent was not required for an offender’s third sentence modification petition after an amended state statute removed that requirement in 2015.
Hill asks SCOTUS to reinstate death penalty for murderer Baer
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is asking the nation’s highest court to reinstate the death penalty against a man convicted of killing a Madison County woman and her 4-year-old daughter, arguing the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals failed to properly defer to state court rulings when it overturned his death sentence earlier this year.
Sessions: Trump administration efforts reducing violent crime
Speaking to a group of nearly 600 Hoosier law enforcement officers at the 2018 Indiana Law Enforcement Conference on Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions touted Trump administration efforts that he said reduced violent crime in dozens of cities.
DNA from genealogy websites leads to cold-case arrests
Using genealogy websites to crack cold cases is making headlines in Fort Wayne and around the country, but it has not been tested in court. The individuals arrested and charged with the crimes are at the beginning of their cases, and questions of privacy and DNA reliability have not been answered.
Ex-prosecutor who withheld recanted testimony suspended
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended a former Porter County deputy prosecutor from the practice of law for 18 months for withholding from the defense evidence that an alleged victim said he had been coached to lie and had recanted allegations of child molestation.
Vigo prosecutor: Officers justified for firing during shootout
Two police officers won’t face criminal charges for firing on a man who authorities say shot and killed a western Indiana police officer during an exchange of gunfire.
Indiana had record number of drug overdose deaths in 2017
A preliminary federal report finds Indiana had a record number of drug overdose deaths last year, as more than 1,800 people succumbed to overdoses. Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and New Jersey saw some of the nation’s biggest spikes in drug overdose deaths last year.
Elkhart wrongful conviction case latest in county’s justice system
An effort to exonerate a man with limited mental capacity who was convicted of murder 13 years ago is the latest in a string of criminal cases that have put a spotlight on the extraordinary number of wrongful convictions in Elkhart County.
Prosecutors cite ethics rules to Hill in abortion lawsuit
Three Indiana prosecutors are renewing their calls for Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill to concede on their behalf the merits of lawsuit that blocked a 2018 abortion law and told the AG's staff in an email that Hill is obligated under the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct to follow their directive as his clients. Hill, however, maintains he is authorized to defend the statute on behalf of his "ultimate client:" the people of Indiana.
Federal courts propose broad evidence, civil, bankruptcy rule changes
Proposed federal court rule changes released for public comment Wednesday would impose new duties on prosecutors who seek to introduce evidence of a criminal defendant’s prior crimes and on lawyers involved in depositions, among other changes.
Prosecutors shift focus to fraud charges in Manafort trial
After three days of dramatic and even salacious testimony in the trial of Paul Manafort, prosecutors on Thursday returned to the nuts and bolts of their case against the former Trump campaign chairman as they sought to show he obtained millions of dollars in bank loans under false pretenses.
Deputy prosecutor named new LaGrange Circuit judge
LaGrange County deputy prosecutor William R. Walz IV has been appointed to the LaGrange Circuit Court. Gov. Eric Holcomb selected Walz to succeed Judge J. Scott VanDerbeck, who retired June 1. VanDerbeck plans to serve as a senior judge and work as a mediator.
COA: Filing errors don’t reverse probation revocation
Errors made in petition filing made by a deputy prosecutor rather than the director of a community corrections program were not sufficient to reverse the revocation of a man’s probation, the Indiana Court of Appeals determined Wednesday.