Year in Review: What you read

Indiana Lawyer produces hundreds of stories each calendar year, covering topics ranging from our daily appellate opinion summaries to legislative updates to elections to law firm leadership and more. Here’s a look at the 50 stories that you, our readers, engaged with the most on our website in 2023, and their original dates of publication.

1. Medical marijuana struggles to gain foothold in Indiana: Another legislative session passes without legalization, establishment of state program (July 5)
Whatever public support exists for medical marijuana, it didn’t result in the passage of any new bills by the Legislature in 2023.

2. Elkhart attorney suspended again after probation violations (April 17)
A northern Indiana attorney on probation after being conditionally reinstated was again suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for violating her probation.

3. Indy attorney disciplined by IN Supreme Court, faces suspension, probation (July 17)
An Indianapolis attorney was once again the subject of a disciplinary order issued by the Indiana Supreme Court and was facing a suspension for professional misconduct.

4. Jury awards $3.7M to doctor after employer made him seek treatment when he was accused of being ‘on something’ at work (May 5)
A jury in Louisville, Kentucky, awarded a former employee of Baptist Health Madisonville $3.7 million in damages, finding the company violated the terms of his employment contract and interfered with his future business relationships.

5. Longtime city employee sues Valparaiso, alleges constitutional violations, gender/pay discrimination (Aug. 15)
A woman filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Valparaiso, its mayor, a former city administrator, Organizational Development Solutions Inc. and the company’s president, alleging gender and pay discrimination, harassment, retaliation and defamation.

6. ‘Blindsided’: Court reporters fume over proposed rule amendment that would ‘prohibit’ stenography (Feb. 1)
The proposed rule change posted for public comment by the Indiana Supreme Court drew sharp criticism from court reporters, attorneys and judges in and out of the state.

7. ‘Passing the baton’: Pratt family features 3 generations of Black attorneys, 2 generations of judges (June 6)
Lena Pratt Sanders, the Marion Circuit Court magistrate judge, has continued her family’s legal legacy of three generations of Black attorneys in Indianapolis — and has now started the family’s second generation of judges.

8. South Bend attorney placed on indefinite suspension by court (March 16)
The Indiana Supreme Court ordered an indefinite suspension for a South Bend attorney for noncooperation with the disciplinary process.

More from Year in Review: Top 10 stories

9. Marion Superior Judge Flowers has died, court announces (Nov. 5)
Marion Superior Court Judge Shatrese M. Flowers, 50, died Nov. 5.

10. Indy attorney suspended following invasion of privacy convictions (June 26)
An Indianapolis attorney was suspended from the practice of law for at least 60 days following his convictions for misdemeanor invasion of privacy.

11. IN Supreme Court suspends attorney after failure to cooperate with investigation (Aug. 28)
A Daviess County attorney was suspended from practicing law in Indiana due to noncooperation with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.

12. Hendricks Co. judge reschedules DCS hearing for possible contempt (Sept. 5)
A Hendricks County judge rescheduled a hearing that Indiana Department of Child Services Director Eric Miller was ordered to attend and explain why the department shouldn’t be held in contempt.

13. Children of ex-fertility doctor Cline must give DNA sites permission to share information in Netflix lawsuit (Feb. 27)
Three of the children who were fathered by disgraced Indianapolis fertility specialist Donald Cline were ordered to permit DNA testing websites to share information about the privacy settings they used on the websites and how they used the websites to discover and communicate with each other.

14. Indy lawyer disciplined for professional conduct violations (Jan. 16)
An Indianapolis attorney who failed to provide competent representation and communication to one of his clients was suspended from practicing law in Indiana for 60 days, all stayed subject to his completion of at least one year of probation with JLAP monitoring.

15. Amish men who told woman to rescind protective order against husband lose appeal of intimidation convictions (July 27)
The convictions of three men in an Amish community on misdemeanor intimidation charges were not barred by the church autonomy doctrine and were supported by sufficient evidence, the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed.

16. ‘Confusing’ jury instruction leads to reversal of child molesting conviction (Feb. 8)
The July 2014 revision to Indiana’s criminal code resulted in the Court of Appeals of Indiana vacating a man’s child molesting conviction after finding that a jury instruction straddling both sides of the effective date of the revision could have confused jurors.

17. DCS ‘ambushed’ by GOP senators ahead of proposal to switch to contract attorneys in 2 regions, source says (April 20)
A Senate Republican plan to switch from in-house attorneys to contractors in two Indiana Department of Child Services regions caught the agency off guard and followed a meeting in which agency executives were “ambushed” by a group of senators, a DCS source familiar with the meeting told Indiana Lawyer.

18. Indianapolis dermatologist pleads guilty to understating taxes (Jan. 5)
An Indianapolis physician pleaded guilty to understating his taxes by about $361,000 over a four-year period, a felony.

19. Attorney who solicited sexual favors then tried to buy client’s silence resigns (Feb. 9)
A northern Indiana attorney resigned from the Indiana bar after soliciting sexual favors from a client in exchange for a discount on attorney fees, then trying to bribe the client to keep quiet.

20. DCS director ordered to attend Hendricks Co. court hearing for possible contempt (Aug. 30)
A Hendricks Superior Court judge ordered Indiana Department of Child Services Director Eric Miller to appear in person at a hearing to make a case for why the department shouldn’t be held in contempt for failing to obey court orders to produce documents in an underlying civil case.

21. Proposed rule change would require audio recording for all hearings, ‘prohibit’ stenography (Jan. 16)
A proposed amendment to Indiana’s Rules of Trial Procedure would require all courts, including city and town courts, to record audio of hearings in all case types and would prohibit recording through shorthand or stenography.

22. 6 finalists named for Marion Superior Court vacancies (Jan. 31)
The Marion County Judicial Selection Committee announced two panels of three nominees to fill the judicial vacancies left by retired Judges Sheila A. Carlisle and Steven R. Eichholtz.

23. IN Supreme Court suspends 231 attorneys for unpaid dues, not meeting CLE requirements (June 5)
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended 231 lawyers for not complying with Admission and Discipline Rules, including not paying the annual registration fee and not meeting the continuing legal education requirement.

24. Indy attorney convicted of 2 misdemeanors in connection with Jan. 6 Capitol riot (April 5)
An Indianapolis attorney was convicted of two federal misdemeanors in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

25. Marijuana backers prepping for ‘inevitable’ legalization (Feb. 15)
With decriminalization or legalization seemingly off the table, advocates are turning their attention to a “trigger law” that would set up a framework for marijuana if the substance becomes legal at the federal level.

More from Year in Review: Honorable mentions

26. Indiana law allowing voters over 65 to vote by mail not unconstitutional, 7th Circuit affirms (Aug. 16)
By granting older voters the right to vote by mail, Indiana is not abridging the right to vote of those under the age of 65 and is not violating the 26th Amendment, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

27. 2022 in review: Top stories (Dec. 21, 2022)
A look back at the biggest stories of 2022, as voted on by IL staff.

28. Rokita facing lawyer discipline charges: Discipline complaint marks 2nd time in 4 years Indiana AG faces formal ethics complaint (Sept. 27)
On Sept. 18, the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission filed a three-count disciplinary complaint against Attorney General Todd Rokita, In the Matter of Theodore Rokita, 23S-DI-258.

29. Uber driver sues Evansville police officer for alleged 4th Amendment violation (March 16)
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued an Evansville police officer on behalf of an Uber driver who claims the officer violated her Fourth Amendment rights.

30. Judge’s statements fell ‘woefully short’ of expected conduct, COA rules in ordering new judge (July 26)
A Putman County judge’s comments that included profanity and negative connotations about women fell “woefully short” of the expected conduct for judicial officers, the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled in reversing a denial to correct error.

31. State Rep. Lucas arrested for OWI, leaving the scene after early-morning crash on I-65 (May 31)
Indiana State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, faced OWI and leaving the scene charges after being arrested following an early morning crash.

32. Leadership in Law: Past Honorees
Previous honorees of the Leadership in Law Awards.

33. Hancock Co. judge admonished for ‘injudicious’ comments made while on legal prescription drugs that ‘affected judgment’ (July 3)
Hancock Superior Judge Donald Jack “D.J.” Davis was admonished by the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission for “injudicious” comments made during an incident at his son’s home in June 2022, when he said his use of legally prescribed narcotics “affected (his) judgment.”

34. COA finds judicial bias, reverses summary judgment after judge declares civil litigation in Indiana is ‘broken’ (Feb. 13)
After the trial court judge issued — then subsequently withdrew — a scathing opinion declaring Indiana’s civil litigation system was “broken,” the Court of Appeals of Indiana reversed summary judgment in the underlying negligence case, finding the judge was biased.

35. Local, state leaders react to IN Supreme Court vacating injunction against near-total abortion ban (June 30)
The Indiana Supreme Court vacated the preliminary injunction against the state’s controversial near-total abortion ban, reinstating the law that bans abortion except in three narrow circumstances.

36. After a year of permitless carry in Indiana, handgun licenses and related misdemeanors drop (Aug. 21)
One year after Indiana removed the permit requirement to legally carry a handgun, applications for firearm licenses dwindled — and so did the number of misdemeanors filed for unlawful carry.

37. With so many legal tech services available, how do attorneys find the One? (Aug. 2)
As attorneys anticipate litigation services — especially in the technology sphere — to continue evolving, one issue they’ll have to settle is how to vet an increasing number of options, determining what will be the most beneficial and cost-effective.

38. Indy law firm accuses former lawyer of keeping more than $100K in unpaid attorney fees (Aug. 24)
Indianapolis law firm Gilbert Legal Services LLC is suing one of its former attorneys for allegedly setting up work with a new client at a different firm while still employed at GLS, along with continuing to accept student loan reimbursements despite having already paid off the loans.

More from Year in Review: Features, obits and discipline

39. Attorney who ghosted client gets 60-day suspension (Feb. 24)
A southwestern Indiana attorney was suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for at least 60 days without automatic reinstatement for violating four Rules of Professional Conduct.

40. Republic Airways takes legal action against former flight students (March 1)
Against the backdrop of a red-hot job market, Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Inc. and its flight school took legal action against a dozen former students who the airline says failed to honor their commitment to fly for Republic after graduation.

41. St. Joseph Co. judge suspended for 45 days says it ‘never occurred’ to him that actions were unethical (Aug. 9)
A filing in the judicial discipline case against St. Joseph County Probate Judge Jason A. Cichowicz shed light on the facts surrounding the judge’s 45-day suspension as well as his defense.

42. Indy attorney suspended for violating terms of disciplinary probation (March 23)
An Indianapolis attorney who had been on probation since May 2021 faced a suspension of at least one year for violating the terms of that probation.

43. Rokita reprimanded for comments about Dr. Bernard (Nov. 2)
The Indiana Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Attorney General Todd Rokita for comments he made about Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the OB-GYN at the center of a controversy over abortion rights in Indiana.

44. IN Northern District magistrate Kolar tapped to replace Kanne on 7th Circuit (July 27)
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana Magistrate Judge Joshua P. Kolar was nominated to fill the vacancy on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals created by the death last summer of Judge Michael Kanne.

45. In budget year, lawmakers tackle controversial topics (June 21)
Our listing of all laws passed during the 2023 legislative session.

46. State wins restraining order against Fishers attorney for alleged Ponzi scheme (Oct. 23)
A Hamilton County judge granted the state’s motion for an emergency temporary restraining order against a Fishers attorney who allegedly defrauded people in a Ponzi scheme related to securities.

47. Government attorneys, private practitioner named Tax Court finalists; afternoon candidates talk possible changes to court (May 23)
Two government attorneys and one private practitioner were named finalists in the search for Indiana’s next Tax Court judge.

48. St. Joe probate judge Cichowicz facing discipline charges for alleged conduct as attorney, judge (Feb. 7)
St. Joseph Probate Judge Jason A. Cichowicz was charged with seven counts of misconduct, including an allegation that he improperly leveraged his position as the trustee for a foundation to fund improvements to his court.

49. Creating opportunities: Mills to retire from Barnes after trailblazing career (Nov. 8)
Being a first and an only is something Barnes & Thornburg LLP partner Alan Mills has worked to prevent from happening ever again.

50. St. Joseph probate judge Cichowicz to serve 45-day suspension without pay, with automatic reinstatement (Aug. 7)
St. Joseph County Probate Judge Jason A. Cichowicz served a 45-day suspension without pay following the filing of a seven-count disciplinary complaint against him earlier this year.•