Articles

3rd judge presides over qui tam complaint against Indiana Treasurer Mitchell as defendants hire attorneys

The whistleblower case against Indiana Treasurer Kelly Mitchell has been unsealed, showing all the defendants, including Indianapolis-based Ice Miller LLP, have hired legal counsel and a third judge is now presiding over the matter after Marion Superior Judge Patrick Dietrick, who handled the case for 11 months, recused himself when the court was notified that his sister-in-law is employed by Ice Miller.

Read More

Pew study finds benefits, problems with virtual courts

Virtual hearings have been touted as providing easier access to the courts for low-income and self-represented litigants. But in a recent study, The Pew Charitable Trusts concluded the online judicial system is still designed for lawyers, and those parties without attorneys continue to be at a disadvantage.

Read More

Plaintiffs trying to overturn Lake County JNC tap brakes on court proceeding as judicial selection moves forward

A federal court has granted a request by the plaintiffs challenging the judicial selection process in Lake County to toss their previously filed motion for a preliminary injunction, which sought to stop the local nominating commission from filling the superior court vacancy created by the death of Judge Diane Boswell. Meanwhile, the Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission is preparing for interviews with 12 candidates vying to fill the Lake Superior Court vacancy.

Read More

Past due: Personal debt rising, collection expected to grow

A July 2021 report by the Indiana Institute for Working Families found that from 2019 to 2020, debt levels in Indiana increased at a rate of 3.6%, which outpaced the national increase of 3.0%. In dollars, Indiana saw debt levels balloon by roughly $8 billion to $226.5 billion in 2020. This equates to $40,770 in household debt per Hoosier.

Read More

2 attorneys leave the law to answer the call of their faith

Neither Bishop Robert McClory of the Diocese of Gary nor United Methodist Pastor Denise Robinson experienced a jolt of conversion where they suddenly decided to make a U-turn and enter the religious life. Rather, the former commercial litigator and the former prosecutor, respectively, had long heard a quiet call of their faith and tried to respond by being active members of their churches. Eventually, however, they each determined they needed to do more, so they walked away from their legal careers to join the clergy.

Read More

Marion County prosecutor drops death penalty for man accused of murdering Southport police officer

The Indianapolis man accused of killing a Southport police officer is no longer facing the death penalty after the Marion Superior Court accepted an agreement Friday reached by defense attorneys and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, which dropped the potential for capital punishment in exchange for a bench trial that could result in the defendant being sentenced to life in prison.

Read More

COA affirms division of marital assets

In a divorce dispute that has lasted nearly as long as the marriage, the Court of Appeals of Indiana found the trial court did not abuse its discretion by awarding more assets to the wife than she had originally brought into the union.

Read More