Justices vacate transfer in pot bust case heard in Merrillville
A divided appellate court ruling upholding a marijuana conviction resulting from a tip that led to a traffic stop will stand after the Indiana Supreme Court vacated transfer.
Dave Stafford
Articles
Judge sets hearing on Conour bond revocation bid
A judge Thursday set a hearing to determine whether former personal injury attorney William Conour will remain free pending his federal wire fraud trial.
Federal judge keeps alive Rock case vs. NCAA
A federal judge has left the door open for a former Division I college football quarterback to pursue his claim that the NCAA constitutes an illegal college sports monopoly, allowing him to amend a complaint that had been dismissed.
Against court orders, Conour auctioned art for $10k
Former personal injury attorney William Conour claims his ex-wife is in possession of most of the items the government says are missing from his Carmel home, but he acknowledged auctioning sculptures for $10,000 in an apparent violation of bond conditions in his federal wire fraud case.
Complex wrongful-death legal fee appeal puzzles judges
Judges on a panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals were stumped at times Friday in a case regarding legal fees due from the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund to the estate of a woman who won a wrongful death judgment after she died from burns at a care facility.
Convicted ex-coroner hits Brizzi with legal malpractice suit
Former Hancock County coroner Tamara Vangundy paid for negligent legal advice on her plea deal in a drunken-driving and official-misconduct case that ended her career as an elected official, she alleges in a legal malpractice claim filed against former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.
Casino patron hurt in fall on ice has self to blame, appeals court rules
A casino patron who passed beneath caution tape and then broke his pelvis in a fall on a snowy and icy parking surface lost his appeal challenging summary judgment in favor of the casino, which had cordoned off that portion of a parking deck.
Juvenile reversal sets new conditional admissions standard
A Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday reversed a ruling in a juvenile case and set a new standard for how juvenile judges must handle conditional admission agreements when probable cause is disputed.
Conour has until week’s end to recoup missing assets
Former personal injury attorney William Conour on Monday was granted a few more days to comply with a court order to reacquire assets he dissipated in violation of bond conditions pending his federal wire fraud trial.
Carr investiture completes bankruptcy court transition
Judge James Carr, right, takes the oath May 14 as the newest member of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Memorable moments from the 7th Circuit Bar Association and Judicial Conference of the 7th Circuit
Here are some highlights from the recent 7th Circuit Bar and Judicial Conference in Indianapolis.
Taxed to death no more
The fate of the inheritance tax in Indiana went from a slow, lingering demise over the next decade to sudden death in the biennial budget lawmakers approved this session.
Lugar: I paid the price for support of Obama picks
Former Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar told members of the federal judiciary May 6 that his support of President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court appointees, opposed by many in his party, may have carried the greatest political cost of any decisions during his 36 years in the Senate.
Easterbrook: 7th Circuit ‘nation’s leader’ in productivity
Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals presented his final State of the Circuit address during the Circuit conference this month in Indianapolis, describing the federal appellate court for Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin as perhaps the nation’s most industrious.
Criticism of judge results in discipline case
Indianapolis attorney and blogger Paul Ogden speaks his mind, sometimes to his disadvantage, he concedes. Now he could lose his law license because of things he wrote.
Lengthy gun sentence affirmed in 2011 hotel standoff
A federal prison sentence of more than 33 years was upheld Monday for a career criminal convicted of leading police on a chase, assaulting an officer until he lost consciousness and staging an armed, four-hour standoff at an Indianapolis hotel in August 2011.
Appeals panel voids gun conviction, cuts child porn sentence
An Indianapolis man sentenced to 11 years in prison for possession of child pornography and a felony gun charge had his most serious conviction vacated and his sentence reduced to no more than four years.
Court rules county may re-establish hospital building fund
Jasper County was improperly denied the ability to establish a cumulative building fund and tax levy to enlarge and remodel a hospital, the Indiana Tax Court ruled.
7th Circuit orders resentencing, muses ‘wine speaks truth’ in felon gun case
An Elkhart felon’s defense that he was drunk at the time he told police that guns they confiscated from his girlfriend’s apartment belonged to him failed to sway the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which did find another error and order him to be resentenced.
Lawyer who emailed nude film clip to harm ex-intern suspended 3 years
Indianapolis attorney Arthur J. Usher IV’s rejected romantic advances toward a summer intern led him to have his paralegal email more than 50 attorneys a video clip purporting to depict the former intern nude in a film, according to the Indiana Supreme Court. Usher’s bid to discredit and humiliate her while she was seeking employment resulted in a three-year suspension on Friday.