Articles

Appeals court splits over ‘manifest injustice’ in resentencing

The majority of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel reversed the resentencing of a burglar who was serving an out-of-state sentence, holding that a harsher sentence that was imposed on a prior remand was a manifest injustice. But a dissenting judge wrote that the offender’s victims would suffer a greater injustice if the sentence is reduced.

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Revised vote tally flips St. Joseph race, ousting probate judge

The St. Joseph Probate Court judge was unseated in Tuesday’s election, reversing earlier results showing Republican Judge James Fox had retained his office. Official final vote totals now show Democratic challenger Jason Cichowicz narrowly defeated Fox in the state’s closest judicial race.

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Ginsburg, 85, hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall

The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court said the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight after a  Wednesday evening fall.

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Divided justices deny child murderer death penalty relief

The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the denial of post-conviction relief for a convicted child murderer and arsonist sentenced to death, finding that while the man’s counsel did make mistakes, those mistakes did not rise to the Strickland level of deficient performance. However, Chief Justice Loretta Rush dissented and would have allowed the case to proceed to a new penalty phase.

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Appellate court says preferred venue statute is void

The Indiana Court of Appeals has held that a statute concerning preferred venue in corporate lawsuits is void because it conflicts with an Indiana Supreme Court-adopted trial rule. The appellate court’s ruling upheld the denial of a change of venue motion in a medical malpractice case based on the statute being a nullity.

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Voters oust trial court judge; Carmichael beats party-switching ex-jurist

Southern Indiana voters rejected one trial court judge and narrowly re-elected another who was challenged by a former colleague who changed parties to run against her. Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Darrell Maurice Auxier, a Democrat, was the lone sitting Indiana trial court judge to lose his bid for re-election, while Clark Circuit Judge Vicki Carmichael retained her bench seat in one of Indiana’s closest countywide trial court races Tuesday. 

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Mom in wheelchair loses ADA access appeal against school district

A Warrick County woman who uses a wheelchair and was unable to attend her son’s school Christmas concert two years in a row lost her argument of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act after it was determined the concert was not provided by the school corporation.

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19 to be interviewed for Lake Superior judgeship

The Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission will begin conducting interviews to fill an upcoming vacancy in the Lake Superior Court left by Judge Jesse M. Villalpando, following his decision to not seek retention earlier this year.

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AG’s office secures $5.1 million dental clinic settlement

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has helped secure a $5.1 million settlement with two dental firms accused of improperly billing Indiana Medicaid for unperformed or unnecessary dental services. The settlement, reached in conjunction with U.S. Attorney Russell M. Coleman in the Western District of Kentucky, resolves claims that ImmediaDent of Indiana LLC improperly billed Indiana Medicaid for dental services in its nine dental practices in Indiana.

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