Articles

In 3-2 ruling, justices affirm car search in warrant for search of home

Indiana’s chief justice and most senior justice dissented Wednesday from a decision upholding the admission of evidence in a drug case collected from a vehicle that arrived at a Camby home at the same time police were inside the house executing a search warrant that was limited to the property. A justice who sided with the majority, however, said the split decision is evidence that key caselaw regarding law enforcement searches and seizures may need to be revisited.

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New laws overrule court rulings

Sometimes you lose the battle but win the war. That happened for at least two Indiana lawyers this year. While their clients lost in court, the results of their cases so struck a nerve that the Indiana General Assembly reacted, passing legislation that enshrined into law relief lawyers and their clients fought for.

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7th Circuit removes East Chicago lead pollution case to federal court

Companies sued by residents who claim their former housing complex in East Chicago was polluted by toxins including lead and arsenic prevailed in their bid to have the case heard in federal rather than state court. In doing so, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals also eased the standard for when a defendant may assert a defense of acting under federal authority.

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AG’s office wins delay in suit challenging Hill’s eligibility

Lawyers for the Indiana Attorney General’s Office asked for a change of judge late Thursday on the eve of the first scheduled hearing in a lawsuit seeking to declare suspended Attorney General Curtis Hill ineligible to serve. Lawyers for the AG’s Office — who also filed on behalf of Gov. Eric Holcomb — also asked to vacate the hearing.

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Justices strip award of attorney fees in Utica billboard dispute

The Indiana Supreme Court on Friday threw out an award of more than $237,000 in attorney fees in a lawsuit over seven billboards outside Utica, Indiana. Justices found the Clark Circuit Court lacked a basis for awarding fees to the parties who sued a regional development entity that sought to restrict billboards along State Road 265 just north of Louisville.

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Suspect who claims self-defense in judges’ shooting jailed without bond on minor violation

The man accused of shooting two judges during an Indianapolis altercation more than a year ago — and whose attorneys unsuccessfully pressed for the release of surveillance video of the incident they say backs up his self-defense claim — is back behind bars, held without bond after a minor pretrial release violation. The arrest on a warrant appears to conflict with an Indiana Supreme Court order for trial courts to issue arrest warrants only in emergency cases due to concern about the spread of COVID-19 behind bars.

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Appeals court slams due process violations in TPR cases: ‘This must stop’

Indiana trial courts and the Department of Child Services continue to deprive parents of their due process rights after years of warnings, the Indiana Court of Appeals said Wednesday, reversing the termination of a mother’s parental rights when the termination hearing went on without her or her lawyer present. In doing so, appellate judges strongly restated that courts and DCS have a duty to ensure parents’ rights aren’t violated.

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Stafford: Hill touts his record, so let’s look at his convictions

Say what you will about Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, he is a man of convictions. But for purposes of this earned polemic, let’s set aside the wrongful convictions that are still being overturned from Hill’s years as Elkhart County prosecutor. Instead, let’s focus on his time as AG and explore Hill’s personal and political convictions.

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