With two vacancies now on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, President Donald Trump’s nominee for an Indiana seat faced tough questioning on Capitol Hill while bar and civil rights groups called for change on the Chicago-based court, the only all-white federal appeals bench in the nation.
The Bayh-Dole Act, marking its 40th anniversary, has contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. gross domestic product and supported million jobs by unleashing the discoveries in America’s leading universities. But the landmark legislation now hailed as an engine of innovation and enterprise almost never came to pass.
A settlement has been finalized between the Indiana attorney general and the operator of a mobile home park in Indianapolis whose actions had forced multiple residents from their homes in 2019.
A group of blind Hoosiers and their advocates have filed a lawsuit against Indiana, claiming the state’s absentee voting scheme that forces them to “permit virtual strangers to fill out their ballots” violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held consideration of Thomas Kirsch’s nomination until its Dec. 10 meeting, putting the U.S. Attorney for the Northern Indiana District’s confirmation to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in a tight race against the clock.
An Indianapolis landlord has agreed to pay nearly $46,000 to settle a lawsuit that alleged he proposed exchanging sex for rent from a female tenant who lost her job during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the first time in its history, the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society’s holiday dollar campaign is going virtual. The fundraiser has become a tradition since it was started in the mid-1990s but will be critical this season to meet the needs created by the pandemic.
Judge Joel Flaum of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals took senior status Monday, creating another vacancy on the appellate court that has welcomed four new judges and is preparing for a fifth since Donald Trump became president in 2017. Flaum has served on the federal appellate bench for 37 years.
The lack of diversity on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals – which would remain unchanged if nominee Thomas Kirsch II is confirmed to fill the current vacancy – is prompting minority groups to speak out and call upon elected officials and the judiciary to appoint judges from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
While the pandemic continues to rage and pharmaceutical makers get closer to developing an effective vaccine, Americans’ willingness to get inoculated has slipped. Battles over the vaccination will probably spill into the workplace, and employers are already starting to consider policies and plans for ensuring their workers’ health along with making possible accommodations to those who object to getting the shots.
With a portfolio of clients who innovate and launch small businesses, Gutwein Law realized many of these entrepreneurs had cute little startups waiting for them at home. What happened next was elementary: a lawyer and marketing pro at the firm produced “The ABCs of Entrepreneurship: A Book for the Future Startup Founder.”
The 2019 Indiana Civic Health Index called attention to the issue of community participation and recommended the appointment of a committee to examine civic education. As a result, the Indiana Bar Foundation Civic Education Task Force was formed. At a Nov. 18 press conference, officials presented a final report urging a series of recommendations to improve civic education in Indiana.
The married lesbian couples who successfully challenged Indiana’s prohibition on listing both women as parents on their children’s birth certificates have filed their brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, telling the justices not to bother with this long-running dispute.
Indiana has decided to join the growing majority of states and adopt the Uniform Bar Exam in July 2021, according to an announcement Tuesday from the Indiana Supreme Court. Justices also announced Tuesday that the February 2021 Bar Exam will be given remotely.
During his allotted time to question Thomas Kirsch II about his potential confirmation to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, bypassed all inquiries about the judiciary and pressed the nominee on the flow of guns from Indiana to Chicago.
Josh Minkler, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, has joined Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis where he will be part of the firm’s white-collar and investigations practice group. The announcement came days after Minkler announced he was stepping down as the top federal prosecutor based in Indianapolis.
As many judicial nominees before him have done, Thomas Kirsch II told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that he would apply the law as written but his explanations of how he would interpret statutes brought intense scrutiny from senators on both sides of aisle.
The Indiana Bar Foundation Civic Education Task Force released a series of recommendations Wednesday for improving Hoosier students’ understanding of American democracy. The proposals include revising academic standards, providing more professional development for teachers and strengthening ties to the community.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Thomas Kirsch II is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday as he begins the confirmation process to fill the vacancy on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals created by the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A Delaware County man sentenced to more than 100 years for a crime he committed as a 17-year-old was granted a new sentence after the Indiana Supreme Court found “two major shifts in the law” provide the opportunity to reconsider sentences that were “manifestly unreasonable.”