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

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SCOTUS to decide whether patent challenges must be heard in court

In the wake of hefty attorney fees and an onslaught of what was viewed as unnecessary litigation filed by “patent trolls,” Congress authorized the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to begin conducting inter partes reviews of patent challenges in 2012 as an efficient and cost-effective alternative to patent litigation. But now, the popular IPR process could be in jeopardy as the United States Supreme Court considers whether federal law requires patent challenges to be adjudicated in court.

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COA overturns summary judgment in contract dispute

In the second appeal stemming from a cancelled contract between Lake County and a delinquent tax collector, the Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of the county based on its precedent from a previous 2015 decision.

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7th Circuit upholds qualified immunity

The Department of Correction’s religious director was entitled to qualified immunity on a complaint alleging he violated two Jewish plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights by failing to delay their transfer to a facility that did not offer Jewish group worship services, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

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COA throws out handgun, driving with suspended license convictions

After determining an inventory search of a man’s car was actually investigatory in nature, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Monday the man’s conviction of possession of a handgun without a license. The court also threw out the man’s conviction of driving with a suspended license for lack of evidence.

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Hill moves to intervene in case restricting local ICE detentions

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has filed a motion to intervene in a federal immigration case after a district court judge entered a consent decree barring the Marion County Sheriff’s Office from detaining illegal immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a warrant or probable cause. The decree implicates the state’s ability to enforce its own statutes, Hill argued, thus creating the need for the state to intervene and file an appeal.

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7th Circuit upholds Armed Career Criminal Act sentence

An Indiana man sentenced to 15 years under the Armed Criminal Career Act has lost his appeal of his sentence after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he met the requirements of three prior violent offenses to warrant the Act’s mandatory 15-year minimum.

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Citing civil forfeiture ruling, trial court returns seized property

Nearly four months after a district court judge struck down portions of Indiana’s civil forfeiture statute as unconstitutional, the effects of that decision are now being felt in Indiana’s trial courts, where a judge has ordered the return of seized property pursuant to the district court’s ruling.

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Civil Rights Commission’s $96K discrimination award upheld

The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a nearly $100,000 judgment in favor of a black man who claims he was subject to discriminatory practices by his former employer after ruling the Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s finding in favor of the man was not invalid or void.

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Charitable exemption for Starke County nonprofit upheld

A Starke County mental health non-profit was properly awarded a partial charitable exemption on its real property because the nonprofit provides a public benefit and lessens the government’s burden of addressing mental health issues, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Friday.

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Justices to decide if sex offender’s internet restriction unconstitutional

After being convicted of incest with his teenage niece, a Tippecanoe County man’s sentence contained several probation conditions, including a prohibition on accessing websites “frequented by children” and a prohibition on internet use without prior approval. Those conditions are the subject of an appeal now under review by the Indiana Supreme Court, which will decide whether the conditions, as applied, are unconstitutional.

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Divided Supreme Court throws out juvenile’s LWOP sentence

In a 3-2 decision Tuesday, the Indiana Supreme Court reduced a life without parole sentence for an offender convicted of murder at 17, finding LWOP sentences should be reserved for the most “heinous” juvenile offenders. The dissenting justices, however, found the nature of the crime in question warranted a life sentence.

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