Editor

Olivia joined Indiana Lawyer as a reporter in September 2016 and was promoted to managing editor in April 2018. Olivia has experience reporting on local, state, and federal government entities, including the state and federal court systems. She has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists for her work individually and with the Indiana Lawyer staff each year since she joined IBJ Media.

First job: Watering flowers around the yard for my dad
Favorite movie: Tie between The Devils Wear Prada and Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Favorite book: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (seeing a pattern?)
Personal hype song: “Respect” by Aretha Franklin
Hobbies: Reading, biking, taking walks, listening to music

Articles

Justices’ ruling sparks conversation about PCR for noncitizens

Earlier this month, a 3-2 majority of the Indiana Supreme Court granted post-conviction relief to noncitizen Angelo Bobadilla, finding deficient counsel performance and prejudice. But dissenting justices raised concerns about the ruling inappropriately expanding the PCR analysis.

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Despite counsel’s error, defendant not entitled to relief, COA says

Despite a trial attorney’s failure to include a pretrial transcript in the record on a defendant’s direct appeal, the defendant is not entitled to post-conviction relief because the Indiana Court of Appeals would not have found prejudice in the attorney’s performance, the court ruled Friday in addressing the case for the second time.

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Justices: Admission of warrantless cell location data was harmless

Even though law enforcement conducted a warrantless Fourth Amendment search when they accessed of a man’s cellphone location data, the admission of the data does not warrant a new trial because any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday, upholding a man’s four convictions in a case heard on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Judge sanctions lawyer, ex-DOC nurse in inmate abuse case

After declaring her trust in the statements submitted by defendants in prisoner litigation cases “shattered,” a federal judge imposed sanctions — some as as severe as default judgment — on a former prison nurse and her attorney accused of misconduct as serious as perjury.

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Charlestown residents challenging sale of water utility

A group of residents from Charlestown is challenging the sale of the local water utility to Indiana-American Water, a transaction that comes with a $13.4 million price tag. Charlestown officials say the sale will improve the local water quality in the long run while mitigating rate increases, but the challenging residents claim the opposite.

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Judiciary faces ‘political’ task in border wall emergency declaration

The question for courts hearing challenges to President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration is not as simple as deciding whetherthe action is legal; they also must determine the extent of congressional and presidential powers, the meaning of relevant statutes and how much deference to give a president asserting executive authority.

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SCOTUS to determine when permits are necessary to pollute navigable waters

The US Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court ruling that seemingly expands the Clean Water Act. Under the 9th Circuit’s decision, any pollutant found in navigable water that is “fairly traceable” to a permittable discharge source is subject to permitting requirements, even if the source of the pollutant does not discharge directly into a navigable water.

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SCOTUS decision in Timbs civil forfeiture case just a start

The US Supreme Court decision in a landmark Indiana civil forfeiture case ruled that the Eighth Amendment Excessive Fines Clause is incorporated to the states, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s opinion declined to answer one key question: When does the Eighth Amendment prohibit civil forfeiture?

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State, IBM spar over damages during Supreme Court oral arguments

It’s been roughly nine years since a hard-fought legal battle over the creation of a new Hoosier welfare system ensued between the state of Indiana and IBM Corp. And on Thursday, the long-lasting litigation returned to the Indiana Supreme Court, which this time must answer a multi-million-dollar damages question.

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State, national groups support Indiana public defense reform

Leaders of state and national criminal justice organizations are declaring their support for the Indiana Public Defender Commission’s reform initiative, which the commission is presenting to the Indiana General Assembly this year in an effort to secure additional funds to expand and improve indigent defense services statewide.

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