Federal judge blocks Indiana’s noon deadline for receiving mail-in ballots
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a state law that declares mail-in absentee ballots late and invalid if they aren’t received by noon on Election Day.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Articles
Hoosier nominee: Barrett stands on Ginsburg’s shoulders to continue Scalia’s work
Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic and mother of seven, has been a favorite of social conservatives. However, her confirmation is already inciting partisan fighting, coming just weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election. Republican senators are preparing for a swift process with her hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled for Oct. 12 and possibly her nomination being sent to the Senate floor by late October.
State opposes ‘last minute change’ to polling hours law
The state of Indiana is trying to stop a federal judge’s ruling that would allow Hoosier voters themselves to go to state court and file for an extension of polling hours if problems arise with balloting on Election Day.
Supreme Court vacancy likely to inflame presidential debate
President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, were already set to fight when they share a stage Tuesday in Cleveland, but the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg means things may get tenser even faster.
Suit: Challenged law may invalidate tens of thousands of Indiana mail-in ballots
An estimated 10,000 Hoosiers’ mail-in absentee ballots were rejected as “late” during Indiana’s 2020 primary election under a disputed Indiana law, suggesting multiple times more ballots may be thrown out in the Nov. 3 general election, groups challenging the law in federal court contend.
Lawyer: Case of Black inmate set to die reveals racial bias
The lawyer for the first Black inmate scheduled to die this year as part of the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions says race played a central role in landing her client on death row for slaying a young white Iowa couple and burning them in the trunk of their car.
7th Circuit vacates intellectually disabled killer’s death sentence
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the death sentence of a federal death row inmate convicted of murdering a teen girl. The condemned man has spent years claiming he is intellectually disabled, and the appellate court agreed, citing evidence withheld by the government during his trial.
Braun supports vote on Supreme Court nominee before November
Indiana Sen. Mike Braun said Tuesday that he supports the Senate taking a confirmation vote on a nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the November election. Braun also urged President Donald Trump to tap 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge and University of Notre Dame Law School professor Amy Coney Barrett.
Romney OKs voting on SCOTUS nominee, all but assures approval
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said Tuesday he supports voting to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court, all but ensuring President Donald Trump has the backing to push his choice to confirmation over Democratic objections that it’s too close to the November election.
After meeting 7th Circuit’s Barrett, Trump vows SCOTUS pick by weekend
President Donald Trump met Monday with Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House as the conservative jurist and University of Notre Dame law professor emerged as a favorite to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. The developments portend a monumental Senate confirmation fight over objections from Democrats it’s too close to the November election.
SCOTUS favorite Barrett’s Purdue Title IX opinion hews to text, sets standard
With 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett a favorite to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, the focus has been on the jurist’s views of abortion, but an opinion in a Purdue University sexual misconduct case she authored little more than a year ago may provide more insight into her approach to the law.
7th Circuit denies bid to stay execution of Black man convicted of murder
The first Black man scheduled to be executed since the resumption of lethal injection on federal death row lost his appeal for a stay Friday when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found he had almost no chance of relief arguing his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and that the judge who condemned him was an alcoholic.
Ginsburg’s death puts Roe v. Wade on the ballot in November
It’s been a throwaway line in presidential campaigns for years: Roe v. Wade is on the ballot. This time it is very real.
High court front-runner, Notre Dame’s Barrett hailed by right, feared by left
A front-runner to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a federal appellate judge who and professor at Notre Dame Law School who has established herself as a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues from abortion to gun control.
Indiana vote-by-mail appeal brief warns of ‘confusing and chaotic’ election scenario
Plaintiffs in the battle to expand no-excuse absentee voting in Indiana before the Nov. 3 general election filed their reply brief Wednesday, arguing the state’s suggestion of requiring all Hoosiers to vote in-person, regardless of age, would create a “more confusing and chaotic outcome.”
Southern Indiana District Court opens applications for new magistrate judge
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, one of the busiest federal courts in the country, has been allotted another full-time magistrate judge position and is taking applications for the appointment, which will start April 1, 2021.
Man convicted of killing IU student loses 7th Circuit rehearing bid but wins remand
The man convicted in the 2000 murder of Indiana University student Jill Behrman will not get a second hearing on habeas relief before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the federal appellate court is allowing John Myers to pursue allegations of withheld evidence on remand.
Charlestown zoo owner facing contempt after blocking court-ordered animal removal
As the process of removing animals from an Indiana zoo featured on Netflix’s hit series “Tiger King” begins, the owner of the zoo is already facing a contempt motion for allegedly interfering with the court-ordered removal.
Indiana AG urges 7th Circuit to keep absentee voting restrictions in place
Less than two months before the November presidential election, the Indiana Attorney General is countering a push to remove the state’s restrictions on mail-in voting by telling the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals those restrictions guard against fraud and encourage voter turnout.
AG Hill appeals ruling striking ‘abortion complications’ reporting statute
A district court ruling that struck down a Hoosier abortion law requiring the reporting of “abortion complications” has been appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announced.