New trial ordered for man denied counsel in criminal case
A man who asked for legal counsel that was not appointed in his misdemeanor invasion of privacy case will get a new trial, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
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US Supreme Court denies former Kentucky judge’s petition
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request by a former Kentucky judge to delay an ethics case against her. The judge faced potential removal for attempting to help her ex-husband after his 2017 arrest on drug possession charges. She has been charged with forgery and records tampering.
Supreme Court weighs whether Mexican family can sue in US
The Supreme Court’s left-leaning justices on Tuesday appeared willing to allow a lawsuit filed by the parents of a Mexican teenager shot over the border by an American agent, but the case will depend on whether they can persuade a conservative colleague to join them.
Honoring the honorable: Marshall added, Dred Scott author removed from Southern District mural
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, arguably best known for authoring the notorious 1857 majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sanford, used to be featured in an Indiana Southern District Court mural. But his name was recently replaced with “Marshall,” representing longest-serving Chief Justice John Marshall and Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, the court’s first African-American justice.
SCOTUS calendar includes multiple immigration issues
As the nation gears up for the 2020 presidential election, the United States Supreme Court is preparing to review some of the most controversial elements of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
‘Incredibly lucky breaks’: Massa recalls going from journalist to justice
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Massa didn’t follow a traditional path into the law, but he says a series of “incredibly lucky breaks” propelled him forward in the profession.
Help renewed for Hoosiers facing loss of their home
The Indiana Supreme Court is working to help troubled homebuyers, and possibly prevent another flood of empty houses, by relaunching the Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance Project. A $115,000 grant from the Indiana Bar Foundation will provide funding to pay for facilitators to work with borrowers and lenders to try to get them to reach an agreement that will avert a foreclosure.
Van Tyle: Working with vulnerable immigrant populations amid change
For good or for bad, immigration policy can often change day-to-day. Rules and regulations recently have been introduced, only to be temporarily halted by injunction days before implementation.
Stafford: Justices can’t kick Indiana’s civil forfeiture addiction
The term “excessive fine” is understandable. Unless you are a member of the Indiana Supreme Court. Then, in the context of civil asset forfeiture, the term becomes an enigma to be parsed in three dozen pages of ridiculous legal logic that even one of the five justices confessed he could not comprehend.
Parrish: Students find clerkships in smaller counties rewarding
This summer’s Rural Justice Initiativesought to expose students who are committed to public service to different facets of rural and smaller-city practice while helping trial court judges with their heavy workloads in counties where that help is needed most. The goal was to underscore to students the benefits of clerking after graduation, to help improve access to courts and expand legal services, and to inspire some students to consider pursuing careers in rural Indiana.
Justices answer juvenile ineffective assistance of counsel question
Indiana Supreme Court justices have affirmed the placement of a teenage boy in the Indiana Department of Correction, finding he was not provided ineffective assistance of counsel.
Justices steer defective dump-truck suit back to trial court
A lawsuit alleging an Indianapolis manufacturer delivered dozens of defective dump trucks in 2005 has taken a U-turn back to the trial court after the Indiana Supreme Court found it could not grant summary judgment sought by the truck builder in litigation brought against it by the truck buyers.
Man suing for unpaid wages awarded thousands more in appeal
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed in part a judgment issued to a former medical device company employee, granting him an additional award for unpaid wages and remanding for the calculation of additional attorney fees it concluded he is entitled to.
Court’s conservatives seem to back Trump on immigration
The US Supreme Court’s conservative majority seems prepared to allow the Trump administration to end a program that allows some immigrants to work legally in the United States and protects them from deportation.
Supreme Court lets Sandy Hook shooting lawsuit go forward
The United States Supreme Court said Tuesday a survivor and relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting can pursue their lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 26 people.
Condo complex loses 7th Circuit appeal in hail damage dispute
An Indianapolis condominium complex cannot seek more than $1 million in damages on a loan it took out to replace the shingles on its buildings, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Civil penalties imposed on Imperial Petroleum fraudster upheld
A man hired to artificially inflate an Indiana oil company’s stock has lost his appeal at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals after the federal court concluded the extent of his cooperation and whistleblower activities was adequately assessed when he was issued more than $1.5 million in civil penalties.
Justices reverse grant of transfer in teen murder case following oral arguments
Just hours after hearing oral arguments on the merits in a murder case from 2000, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed its decision to assume jurisdiction over the case.
COA heads to Adams Co. to hear hit-and-run case
The Indiana Court of Appeals will travel northeast next week to hear arguments in a case involving a man charged in a fatal hit-and-run.
Senators seeking applications after Springmann announces senior status
Indiana’s senators are taking applications for an upcoming judicial vacancy after Northern District Court Chief Judge Theresa Lazar Springmann announced she will soon take senior status.