Some criminal proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, including pleas and sentencings, are now authorized to take place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the district court announced this week.
Federal courts in Indiana and nationwide joined a search for surplus medical supplies that could aid local hospitals in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic after two Florida district courts discovered and donated stockpiles of urgently needed protective gear.
The Judicial Conference of the United States is temporarily allowing federal courts to use video and teleconferencing for certain criminal proceedings as well as teleconferencing for civil proceedings during the COVID-19 national emergency.
A Dollar General district manager who was fired after he returned from medical leave for cancer treatment could not prevail on his claim that his termination violated his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Wednesday.
A northern Indiana city is weighing spending another $500,000 to defend itself against a lawsuit filed by a man whose attempted murder conviction was thrown out because prosecutors didn’t disclose that the state’s sole eyewitness underwent hypnosis to sharpen his memory.
A former South Bend police officer who killed a motorist while driving in excess of 90 mph did not violate the motorist’s constitutional rights, a federal judge has ruled in dismissing a civil case against the officer. The judge did, however, authorize the filing of some claims in state court.
Federal courts are limited jurisdiction tribunals. As such, the federal judiciary carefully guards subject-matter jurisdiction, ensuring at multiple stages of a case, and in the trial court and on appeal, that the case is properly in federal court. Examples of jurisdictional issues abound in federal district courts and are scrutinized in the 7th Circuit, as well.
A Hammond woman convicted for possession of child porn will keep her enhanced sentence and restitution order after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the rulings in her case Friday.
The Indiana legal community is taking precautions and ramping up efforts to stay healthy as the coronavirus spreads. Meanwhile, Faegre Drinker announced Wednesday that it had reopened most of its offices Wednesday, including its Indianapolis location. The firm had closed all 22 of its global offices Tuesday after a person who attend a firm event in Washington, D.C., tested positive for COVID-19.
A Schererville attorney previously arraigned in federal court on charges of tax evasion and failure to pay federal income taxes has been suspended from the practice of law for three years without automatic reinstatement, the Indiana Supreme Court ordered Tuesday. Some of the justices, however, said they would disbar the attorney.
A former accountant and entrepreneur who failed to claim millions of dollars in income on his tax returns and falsely claimed poverty to get his children scholarships from prestigious schools got no relief on required restitution in a federal appeal, even though some of the parties to whom restitution was ordered have said they don’t want the man’s money.
An Indiana community along Lake Michigan has filed a federal lawsuit over its battle with shoreline erosion, saying the town’s infrastructure is in danger of “total destruction.” The suit comes as homeowners and communities along the lakeshore deal with record high water levels in the Great Lakes.
A prisoner’s case has been reinstated after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the Indiana Northern District Court’s denial of his three requests for appointed counsel prejudiced him.
An ongoing royalties dispute between Indiana spine surgeon Rick Sasso and medical-device giant Medtronic will continue in state court despite Medtronic’s efforts to remove the matter to a federal judge.
Two men claiming their firearms convictions should be invalidated after a 2019 Supreme Court ruling failed to find relief at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that collateral-attack waivers in their plea agreements were valid and thus defeated their challenges to their convictions and sentences.
Organizations and individuals around Indiana have been pushing for a solution to the lead problem. The toxin is everywhere and exposure, especially in very young children, can cause lifelong cognitive impairment.
Indiana Supreme Court justices Monday answered in the negative a question of whether the Indiana Products Liability Act’s statute of repose may apply to a judicially-created exception to the rule, finding it could not be extended by a manufacturer’s post-delivery repair, refurbishment or reconstruction of a disputed product.
Raising allegations of unconstitutional conditions, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has filed a lawsuit against Wabash County for “chronic” jail overcrowding.
A federal inmate who chose to raise an ineffective-assistance claim on direct appeal has lost his bid to overturn his guilty plea, with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals finding that his strategic decision to raise the issue on direct appeal led to a lack of sufficient evidence.
A federal judge has kept alive due process claims of former residents of a lead- and arsenic-tainted housing complex who were abruptly forced to move, though several claims alleging racial discrimination and other causes of action against the city of East Chicago were dismissed.