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

RV dealership scores victory in court over sales tax dispute

A northern Indiana RV company did not improperly fail to collect and remit sales tax for its out-of-state customers by physically delivering RVs to those customers in Michigan, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Wednesday, finding such sales are not considered to be made in Indiana as matter of law.

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7th Circuit affirms denial of sentencing relief

Though his appellate counsel presented an underdeveloped Appellate Rule 7(B) resentencing argument to the Indiana Court of Appeals, a North Vernon man isn’t entitled to relief because his sentence is not inappropriate, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

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Fired IPS teacher’s suit remains alive in federal court

A wrongful termination claim stemming from a 2016 Indianapolis Public Schools teacher sex scandal will move forward after a district court judge determined the IPS school board commissioners violated an employee’s due process rights when they terminated her without proper notice.

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Divided court reverses drug convictions for lack of probable cause

Despite a search pursuant to warrants that led to the discovery of more than 60 pounds of marijuana in a man’s Indianapolis home, the man’s drug convictions will be overturned after a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals determined there was a lack of probable cause to support the issuance of the warrants.

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Opinions July 31, 2017

Indiana Tax Court
William R. Larsen v. Indiana Department of State Revenue
49T10-1503-TA-8
Tax. Denies the Indiana Department of State Revenue’s motion for summary judgment in William R. Larsen’s challenge to its assessment of adjusted gross income tax for the 2013 tax year. Grants summary judgment in favor of Larsen. Finds Larsen has provided documentation that verifies the eligibility for his children for the federal dependency exemptions and shows those exemptions were allowed, so he was entitled to the Indiana dependency deductions in 2013.

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COA reverses delinquent adjudication based on warrantless search

A teenager who was adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent after an officer conducted a warrantless search and found him in possession of a handgun and drug paraphernalia will have his adjudication reversed after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct the search without a warrant.

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Wrongly jailed drug court plaintiffs lose in federal court

Plaintiffs who were jailed for months without due process in a southern Indiana drug court will take nothing in their federal lawsuit against drug court staff members and county sheriff who they say were responsible for violating their constitutional rights, a judge has ruled.

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Tax Court: State can’t require SSNs to claim dependent children

A Fort Wayne man who claimed a religious objection to obtaining Social Security numbers for his dependent children was entitled to claim those children as dependents on his state tax return after the Indiana Tax Court determined Monday the man provided the necessary documentation to prove the children are his dependents.

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DOJ, US Attorney’s Office offer resources to reduce crime

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana have begun a new partnership with Indianapolis leaders and law enforcement officials to offer DOJ resources designed to enhance efforts to reduce local violence.

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