Indianapolis police testing mental illness screening tool
Indianapolis police are testing a new screening tool that’s intended to divert people suffering from mental illness to treatment and care, rather than sending them to jail.
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Twelve states sue Indiana medical firm over data breach
Indiana is among a dozen states suing a Fort Wayne health records company over a data breach that compromised information of more than 3.9 million people.
Justices reject environmentalists’ appeal over border wall
The United States Supreme Court is rejecting an appeal from environmental groups trying to stop President Donald Trump from building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, even as other legal action against the wall is ongoing.
7th Circuit upholds child porn prison sentence
A Bedford man sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of child porn has failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to order a resentencing, with the court finding that the terms of the man’s plea agreement were not breached.
COA to hear post-conviction, attempted murder cases
The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments this week in a murder case and on two post-conviction petitions.
Judge: Woman can’t keep pet pigs in Anderson
A judge has ruled that a woman can’t keep her three miniature pigs within the city limits of her central Indiana community. Madison Circuit Court Judge George Pancol rejected Lily Harsh’s appeal of a 2017 decision by the Anderson Board of Zoning Appeals to deny her a zoning variance to keep the pet pigs.
High court rejects request to reinstate murderer Baer’s death sentence
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request by Indiana’s attorney general’s office to reinstate the death sentence of a man convicted of killing a central Indiana woman and her 4-year-old daughter. Monday’s decision leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling that threw out Frederick Baer’s death sentence because he had ineffective legal counsel. He’ll now be resentenced by an Indiana court.
Supreme Court sends bar fees case back for further look
The U.S. Supreme Court is telling a lower court to take another look at a case challenging mandatory fees lawyers pay to a state bar association. The case sent back Monday involves a North Dakota attorney who sued after learning that bar fees were being used to oppose a ballot measure he supported. The justices said the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals should reconsider the case in light of a recent ruling about fees paid to unions, Janus v. AFSCME.
Judgment affirmed for Ellettsville land owner in easement suit
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s entry of summary judgment for a landowner against the owner of the property’s adjacent lot when it found that Indiana’s common-law rule prohibited the unilateral relocation of fixed easements.
Man convicted in 2017 Indianapolis crash that killed 2
A man has been convicted of criminal recklessness and other charges in a 2017 highway rollover crash that killed two Indianapolis teenagers.
Mueller considers new charges for ex-Trump campaign chairman
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort may face additional charges after lawyers in the special counsel’s Russia investigation said he lied to them and broke his plea agreement, prosecutors said Friday.
Drug convictions tossed over suspicionless search
Although caught by Tippecanoe County Community Corrections with his ex-wife in the attic and drugs in the basement, a man had his convictions overturned after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined his consent to warrantless searches did not include suspicionless searches.
7th Circuit revives Indiana wine retailer’s challenge to Illinois liquor laws
Finding the arguments needed to be allowed to ferment a little while longer, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has returned a dispute involving an Indiana wine retailer and Illinois’ liquor laws back to the district court for further proceedings. The case, Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc., et al. v. Bruce V. Rauner, et al. and Wine & Spirits Distributors of Illinois, 17-2495, raises the oft-asked question of how far states can go under the 21st Amendment in regulating alcohol within their borders.
Carmel spine surgeon wins $112M verdict in royalty battle with Medtronic
Dr. Rick C. Sasso, an Indiana spine surgeon and inventor, has won a sweeping, five-year legal battle against medical-device giant Medtronic, with a jury this week awarding him $112 million in damages. Sasso, president of Indiana Spine Group, claimed Medtronic had violated a contract by not paying royalties he was due for spinal implants and screw-implant systems he had invented and licensed to the company more than a decade ago.
Judge strikes lethal injection secrecy law, says lawmakers ‘overstepped’
The Indiana Department of Correction has again lost a suit in which it argues to keep secret the drugs it would use in a lethal injection. The judge in the case extraordinarily outlined how the DOC, the governor’s office, and the Indiana General Assembly appeared to directly undermine her order that the department disclose the drugs it might use in a potential execution.
Alleged drug dealer’s tie to CI’s assault merits higher bond
An accused drug dealer who allegedly assaulted an informant then arranged a separate assault on her from behind bars in Columbus had his bond increased rather than lowered, and the Indiana Court of Appeals agreed Thursday.
Suspended lawyer accused of forgery disciplined again
The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday again suspended from the practice of law a northern Indiana lawyer who is charged with felony forgery and was found to be noncooperative with another Disciplinary Commission investigation of a grievance against her.
Valpo lawyer suspended 1 day after conviction
The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended a Valparaiso attorney who faced multiple criminal charges of violating protective orders and was convicted of one count in a bench trial a day earlier.
Lake County releases judicial candidate survey results
The Lake County Bar Association released its judicial candidate survey results Thursday of nearly 20 applicants vying to fill an upcoming vacancy in the Lake Superior Court.
COA affirms possession of tossed firearm by felon
A man convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon after he allegedly tossed a pistol from his car during a police stop failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that the evidence against him was insufficient.