FEB. 11-24, 2015

Of the billions of text messages sent daily in the world, a few will wind up as evidence in litigation. A few that should will not, and that could mean trouble for lawyers. Twenty-five years ago, Marion County decided to create domestic relations courts. They didn't last, but some counties still funnel these cases to specific judges. Bills in the General Assembly to raise minimum wage in Indiana will go unheard. But supporters say the language may be able to be inserted in a separate bill in the future.

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JAN. 28-FEB. 10, 2015

Commercial courts heralded by Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush in her first State of the Judiciary address could be in business soon, with the first pilots launching as early as this summer, according to judges and lawyers involved in developing the plans. In our 25th anniversary story, reporter Marilyn Odendahl takes a look at firm overhead costs over the past 25 years. The mandatory pro bono rule is currently undergoing tweaks to address concerns raised by attorneys.

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DEC. 17-30, 2014

Indiana Lawyer recently invited Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, Indiana Court of Appeals Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik, Indiana Tax Judge Martha Wentworth and Chief Judge Robyn Moberly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana’s Bankruptcy Court to discuss their career paths as well as the opportunities and challenges today’s courts and lawyers face. State and federal courts are clamping down on confidential filings. A few pluck - and lucky - people have reclaimed and revived famous Hoosier trademarks. Remember Choc-Ola?

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DEC. 3-16, 2014

Five judges with a combined bench experience of more than a century are departing the Marion County courts at the end of the year, joining dozens of jurists around the state who are calling it a career. The Indiana State Bar Association's House of Delegates is seeking malpractice time-limit legislation. The recent $1.4 million judgment against Walgreen after its pharmacist accessed a customer's information in order to share details with her boyfriend is being called a "game-changer."

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NOV. 19-DEC. 2, 2014

As courts around the state conducted special events to celebrate National Adoption Month, the Indiana Supreme Court grappled with a case that poses at least two issues of first impression, including whether an adoption agencies face negligence claims when a child mistakenly has been placed with an adopting family? Three Indiana legal scholars join a brief arguing that the case of a fisherman facing charges he violated Sarbanes-Oxley highlights the issue of overcriminalization. An in-house attorney in Indianapolis has turned his pastime into an album of children's music.

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OCT. 22-NOV. 4, 2014

Forrest Bowman Jr.’s book retraces Indianapolis’ infamous Sylvia Likens murder case and his role defending two boys at trial. The book presents a thorough, day-by-day recollection of the trial that captivated and horrified the state in 1966. Attorneys debate the impact on the judicial process by reality crime TV shows, like "Cold Justice, which led to charges against a man in a 1975 cold case. Lawmakers are in no rush to fix Marion County's Superior judge election system after a federal judge deemed the statute unconstitutional. The legislators are already having to tackle the county's small claims court system.

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