Jury trials halted in South Bend courts
All jury trials have been halted in St. Joseph County as the COVID-19 virus continues to spread and the positivity rate tops 15%.
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Judge declines to stop federal executions because of COVID
A federal judge in Indiana has declined to put a hold on upcoming federal executions, finding that although the executions likely present a COVID-related risk, the inmates who sued to stop the executions have not shown that they personally will be at risk of contracting the virus.
Web Exclusive: Marion County sees high success with child support, driver’s license initiative
Just one year after introducing a new program intended to bring additional child support to custodial parents and more freedom for noncustodial parents, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office sees promise in its Good Faith Initiative.
Valparaiso teen gets 179 years in prison for 2 murders
A northwest Indiana man convicted of fatally shooting two teenagers during a drug-related robbery was sentenced Tuesday to 179 years in prison.
Homeless man arrested after 3 people stabbed in Indianapolis
A homeless man has been arrested in connection with the stabbings of three people in Indianapolis, police said.
Trump looks past Supreme Court loss to new election lawsuit
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his campaign will join a case before the Supreme Court challenging election results in Pennsylvania and other states that he lost as he tries to look past the justices’ rejection of a bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
For in-house counsel, sudden changes that came in 2020 will have lasting impact
Remote working is just one of the many ways the public health emergency upended most plans and expectations for 2020. Corporate attorneys are connecting with their offices through the internet and relying on cellphones and videoconferencing to reach colleagues and clients. The type of work that in-house lawyers are doing also has changed.
High court rejects GOP bid to halt Biden’s Pennsylvania win
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Republicans’ bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the electoral battleground state.
Judge dismisses Flynn case following pardon from Trump
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn but pointedly noted that a pardon Flynn received from the president last month does not mean that he is innocent.
Veteran, young lawyers win $20M jury verdict in unique case tried amid pandemic
Facing unusual circumstances including a case tried during the pandemic, a team of plaintiff lawyers from Yosha Cook & Tisch secured a multi-million-dollar victory for their personal-injury clients. The total verdict reached $20 million, adjusted by a fault reduction for a net win of $12.2 million.
Women general counsel lead at Lilly, Cook and Roche as life sciences adviser roles evolve
Women general counsel at three of Indiana’s life sciences giants are helping their companies pivot to meet the new challenges of the global pandemic and positioning their legal departments to be an integral part of addressing social inequities. They also are not interested in doing things simply because that is how things have always been done.
Unwanted exposure: In right of publicity suits, models seek damages from adult clubs they say used images without permission
Professional models from across the globe are suing four Indiana strip clubs for using their photos without permission to advertise establishments located in Fort Wayne, Hammond and Indianapolis. The models are invoking Indiana’s Right of Publicity Statute, one of the strongest such laws in the nation.
Indiana switching to Uniform Bar Exam in July
Indiana’s decision to adopt the Uniform Bar Exam came after a year of study, and the decision wasn’t unanimous. As Chief Justice Loretta Rush explained, “I really respect the dissenting opinion and in many ways a lot of us agree with what they are saying. But we really felt the time had come.”
Judging future jurists: Kirsch grilled in 7th Circuit bid while diversity calls grow and Flaum takes senior status
With two vacancies now on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, President Donald Trump’s nominee for an Indiana seat faced tough questioning on Capitol Hill while bar and civil rights groups called for change on the Chicago-based court, the only all-white federal appeals bench in the nation.
Guardians seek changes to assist in final arrangements
A guardianship task force has recommended that the Indiana Legislature amend state statute to give guardians authority over dispositions if necessary. While the concept received general support in a recent meeting of the Probate Code Study Commission, the question remained: how do you balance the authority of a guardian with that of another party, such as a POA?
Coalition enlists public for ‘shadow redistricting’
A coalition of activist groups has announced a new push against what it calls partisan gerrymandering by Indiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature. The organization All IN for Democracy is creating an Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission to shadow the Indiana General Assembly as it redraws the congressional and legislative maps next year using 2020 census data.
Settlement of $66.5M resolves 262 lawsuits alleging unnecessary cardiology procedures
With the announcement of a multi-million-dollar settlement last month, long-running litigation against a northwest Indiana cardiologist and his associates is seemingly drawing to a close. But the scale and specifics of the allegations against Dr. Arvind Gandhi and his colleagues at Cardiology Associates of Northwest Indiana P.C. are still difficult to discern.
Unleashing innovation: 40th anniversary of Bayh-Dole Act celebrates law credited with improving lives around the world
The Bayh-Dole Act, marking its 40th anniversary, has contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. gross domestic product and supported million jobs by unleashing the discoveries in America’s leading universities. But the landmark legislation now hailed as an engine of innovation and enterprise almost never came to pass.
Young: Grand jury reforms needed to restore public confidence
Inserting race elevates the question of the efficacy of grand juries, whether they can truly be a fair process that seeks to evaluate the weight of evidence or whether it is simply a prosecutor’s tool to advance or diminish a case before it can take on a life of its own.
Bont: White collar update: Sacklers, Flynn elude criminal charges
In the current administration, it is somewhat unusual for the government to prosecute corporate wrongdoing using every weapon in its arsenal. Particularly given the Department of Justice’s recent practice of publicly announcing decisions not to prosecute corporations that have been under criminal investigation, the recent announcement of resolved criminal charges against Purdue Pharma is unique.