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

Defiant Hill: ‘I never dreamed this could happen to me’

In today’s world, the standard for conviction of sexual misconduct allegations has become guilty, and “who cares if you’re innocent.” That’s according to Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, who publicly spoke out for the first time Monday after last week’s allegations that he groped a lawmaker and behaved inappropriately toward multiple legislative staffers.

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Conour agrees to dismiss third appeal of wire fraud conviction

Convicted fraudster and former Indianapolis attorney William Conour has agreed to dismiss a third appeal of his 10-year federal prison sentence stemming from a 2012 wire fraud conviction for stealing more than $6 million from his personal-injury and wrongful-death clients.

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Prosecutor wants gag order against exoneration lawyer

The Elkhart County prosecutor is accusing a Chicago attorney who is leading the charge to overturn a mentally disabled man’s conviction for an Elkhart murder of violating Indiana professional conduct rules, arguing comments the attorney made at a press conference were “extrajudicial statements” that could jeopardize his pro hac vice status.  

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Justices: Motel room used for sting operation was not ‘place of detention’

The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the admission of incriminating statements made in a motel room during an undercover drug investigation after finding the motel room was not a “place of detention” requiring an electronic record of the statements. The court also created a test for analyzing whether a location can be considered a “place of detention” under Indiana Evidence Rule 617.

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SCOTUS agrees to hear Indiana civil forfeiture challenge

A lawsuit challenging Indiana’s civil forfeiture procedures will be heard by the United States Supreme Court after the justices granted a writ of certiorari to a case that a national legal organization says will have significant implications on Eighth Amendment protections nationwide.

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Mediation halts negligence insurance question in murder

The Indiana Supreme Court is no longer tasked with providing clarification on two conflicting rulings related to insurance coverage for parties accused of acting negligently when a co-insured is accused of acting intentionally or criminally, now that the parties to the underlying case have submitted the case for mediation.

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Elkhart inmate files wrongful conviction petition claiming Elkhart Police coerced his statement

Nearly 13 years after he was found guilty of a murder he claims he did not commit and following a subsequent series of failed attempts at appellate and post-conviction relief, a developmentally disabled man has petitioned the Elkhart Circuit Court to overturn his conviction on the basis of new evidence he says proves his confession was coerced and his counsel was ineffective. Andrew Royer filed a petition to vacate the judgment against him on Wednesday.

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Anti-abortion student group sues Ball State alleging discrimination

A pro-life student group at Ball State University is suing university officials alleging free speech and equal protection violations, claiming the university discriminated by declining to allocate student activity fees to group while giving fees to other student-run political organizations.

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