Articles

Federal legislation would grow, sustain veterans court programs

As veterans court programs expand nationwide, the federal government is exploring opportunities to provide additional resources to local courts. If enacted, the Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2019 would task the Department of Justice with establishing an office to provide additional funding and technical assistance to veterans courts.

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Indiana AG sues to shut down embattled Charlestown zoo

The owner a controversial Charlestown zoo who recently lost his federal exhibitor’s license is now also facing a state lawsuit that would shut down the zoo’s underlying nonprofit organization and remove him as its director, citing allegations of animal abuse, financial improprieties, intimidation and more.

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Jeffersonville man incompetent again for trial in gruesome killing

A southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body has once again been found incompetent to stand trial in the 2014 slaying, months after his first trial ended in a mistrial. An agreement between Joseph Oberhansley’s defense attorneys and Clark County prosecutors stipulates that he is to be transported to a state hospital for competency restoration, based on two evaluations filed in December by psychiatrists.

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New pretrial release rule adds risk assessments for booked inmates

A new Indiana rule requiring that booked inmates be assessed to determine risks or benefits of releasing them before trial is expected to eventually reduce overcrowding at the state’s county jails, criminal justice officials say. Criminal Rule 26, which set Indiana’s new pretrial release protocols, was adopted by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2017, but it didn’t take effect statewide until Jan. 1.

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