A Carmel mother is celebrating a federal court ruling that concluding that the public school district had denied her son a free and appropriate education since January 2018 and May 2018, in part by failing to ensure he received his special education and related services. The family attorney says the case sets precedent for parents whose special-needs children rely on individual education plans.
A 3-2 Indiana Supreme Court decision last month ruled that Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination extends to court orders for a suspect to unlock her cellphone. Other states, however, have taken the opposite stance, setting the stage for a likely US Supreme Court case.
Schemes to con people out of their stimulus checks, to get money for face masks that are never delivered and to get payments for bogus COVID-19 treatments or cures have surged. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has a special coronavirus page on its website devoted to advising consumers on how to identify real contact tracers and to ignore offers for home test kits.
At a time when the American criminal justice system is under the most intense scrutiny of most of our lives, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling allowing the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee was slap in the face of the victims’ family members who opposed it and a bizarre, out-of-touch, wholly mean-spirited form of justice.
With the candidates now in place, what has so far been an unconventional race for Indiana Attorney General is shifting gears toward the November election. Democrat Jonathan Weinzapfel, a former state representative and mayor of Evansville, is promoting himself as the attorney general of the people, not the party. He’ll face off against former Indiana Republican Rep. Todd Rokita, a known quantity in the Hoosier state who is promising “certainty in uncertain times.”
The federal government last week carried out its first executions in almost two decades after the US Supreme Court in separate 5-4 rulings turned away last-minute appeals from two condemned inmates’ legal teams. Their executions, and that of a third defendant, were carried out by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread changes to everyday life that have presented new questions for parents and family law practitioners alike. While we began in uncharted territory, this experience has been an opportunity for attorneys to creatively problem solve in a time when we, like our clients, are navigating many of the same uncertainties.
If you are preparing for a WebEx presentation in Indianapolis for a rezoning or variance case, especially one which is contested by Department of Metropolitan Development staff, by significant remonstrance, or both, consider these tips and clarifications.
As we blow out the candles on the virtual “Happy 10th Birthday” cake, the Indiana Appellate Institute continues to do what it does well, especially help first-time or infrequent appellate advocates, while looking for ways to continue to innovate and improve.
In his June 2020 guest column, Indianapolis Bar Association President-Elect Jimmie McMillian encouraged each of us to use our “power and position as an attorney to work in conjunction with the IndyBar on issues of racial injustice.” The obvious question is “how?” The short answer from the IndyBar is to engage with the newly created Commission on Racial Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
An injunction prohibiting the state government from prosecuting certain uses of smokable hemp has been lifted after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the prohibition was overbroad. But when the smoke clears, the appellate panel said a revised injunction may still be appropriate.
When in-person legal education events became virtually impossible during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic chose to go virtual.
A courageous man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but must take it because conscience tells him it is right.” In so many words, Dr. King was describing courage. Now, more than ever, we all need courage.
I’m still processing the news that this morning my court-appointed death-row client, Wesley Purkey, was executed. I was his pro bono counsel on three civil-rights/conditions of confinement claims in the Southern District of Indiana. So as I wrestle now — and hopefully for some time — with the legal and moral aspects of capital punishment that otherwise have been remote, it seems appropriate and timely to discuss the needs and opportunities for pro bono service in civil cases in our local federal courts. Both are robust.
The Indianapolis Bar Association is proud to recognize Rayann Knepley of Kids’ Voice of Indiana as the association’s Paralegal of the Year for 2020. We invite you to join the IndyBar in congratulating and celebrating Rayann for her unmatched contributions to the Indianapolis legal community!
I write this article on the day our federal government executed the first prisoner in 17 years. His name was Danny Lee, and he was put to death in Terre Haute, Indiana. Our state. The original judge, prosecutor and victims’ family opposed killing Lee because the co-defendant was more culpable and received life in prison. They were ignored while our president had time to commute the sentence of his buddy Roger Stone. No time for Lee, however.
Roughly $162 million has been committed so far to minority-owned businesses helping to build the Marion County’s massive criminal justice center complex in the Twin Aire neighborhood. Advocates for minority contractors say the goal should be higher, especially given the national conversation taking place now about racism and inequity.
A second round of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law students have been dispatched across the state this summer to assist rural county judges through a judicial clerkship program, despite setbacks caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Legislative Democrats want Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb to bring the General Assembly back in a special session as concerns over racial injustice and rising coronavirus cases have created what they say is an immediate need for legislators to reconvene.
A subdivision developer could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals to lift an injunction preventing it from using an access road it built through another neighborhood for construction purposes.