The Indiana Attorney General’s Office wants the nation’s highest court to review the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling from last summer on a death-penalty case, which inspired Zachary’s Law that requires convicted child molesters to register their addresses in a statewide public database.
Gov. Mitch Daniels has appointed attorney Chris M. Teagle as judge of Delaware Circuit Court No. 5. Teagle succeeds Judge Wayne J. Lennington, who turned in his resignation from the bench earlier this year.Teagle, of Albany, has served in private practice in Muncie since 1985 and has had his own civil law practice since 1993. The Valparaiso University School of Law graduate will start May 16. Judge Lennington sent his resignation letter to the governor in March citing health reasons. An…
Michael W. Hoskins [email protected] All of Indiana’s appellate jurists facing retention this year will appear on November’s ballot. Facing a Tuesday deadline to file retention paperwork, the five jurists have told Indiana Lawyer they hope to return to either the Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or Tax Court. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, Justices Theodore M. Boehm and Brent E. Dickson, Court of Appeals Judge Carr Darden, and Tax Court Judge Thomas G. Fisher are up for retention. Late last week,…
Two Indianapolis law firm partners wonder why they were not given a chance to prevent potential lawyer advertising violations as colleagues have been given off and on through the years.
The Indiana Supreme Court granted three transfers yesterday in cases involving a resisting law enforcement conviction, denial of benefits from Indiana's Second Injury Fund, and the reversal of a jury award filed by a college student cleared of rape.
University of Notre Dame Law School professor Richard Garnett is the featured speaker at an event discussing the upcoming presidential election and its impact on the nation's highest court.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals won't rehear en banc Indiana's statehouse prayer suit.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the U.S. District Court in Hammond in which two plaintiffs were injured by a drunk driver and then awarded less-than-adequate relief from a jury, agreeing that any proper relief denied to the plaintiffs was a result of their attorney.In Christina Soltys and Danuta Pauch v. Yvonne Costello, No. 06-3175, the 7th Circuit affirmed the District Court didn’t err in denying the plaintiffs’ eleventh-hour motion to amend their complaint to add a count…
The Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission agrees with a three-masters panel that a Marion Superior judge should be removed from the bench but wants him immediately suspended while the Indiana Supreme Court considers his final punishment.
The Domestic Relations Committee of the Judicial Conference of Indiana is seeking public comment concerning Indiana’s Child Support Rules and Guidelines as part of its review process to propose changes to the Indiana Supreme Court. Written comments are due July 3 and may be submitted by an online survey, by fax to (317) 233-3367, or by mail to Indiana Judicial Center c/o the Domestic Relations Committee, 30 S. Meridian St., Suite 900, Indianapolis, IN 46204-3564. A public hearing will be conducted…
A three-judge panel is recommending that a Marion Superior judge be removed from the bench for judicial misconduct.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the same issue in two separate Indiana cases of men chatting on the Internet with people they believed to be teen girls: whether there was evidence the men had taken "substantial steps" toward committing the crimes of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Three more donations of artwork depicting Indiana courthouses have been received by the Indiana State Bar Association: the bar associations of Daviess, Lake, and Sullivan counties have donated images of their respective county courthouses. Photos are now on Indiana Lawyer’s Web site as part of a slideshow of all 12 works the ISBA has received so far.The ISBA acquired the artwork of Daviess County Courthouse by Ervin R. Clark June 26; it was donated by the Daviess County Bar Association. The painting…
The Indiana Supreme Court has granted transfer to a case about whether an insurance company's automobile policy violates the state's uninsured motorist statute.
Defendants have the constitutional right to testify at trial, but they do not have the right to dictate when they take the stand, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Feb. 25.At issue in Kevin Book v. State of Indiana, No. 49A05-0707-CR-385, is whether the trial court violated Book’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights when he was allegedly compelled to make a decision whether to testify at a particular time during his trial. Book was accused of smothering to death his girlfriend’s 20-month-old…
An Indianapolis attorney is the new magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana.Debra McVicker Lynch, of counsel at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, fills the position left empty after Judge William T. Lawrence was elevated to Article III judgeship July 1. Lynch said she is elated and honored that the court expressed its confidence in her to select her as magistrate judge. Although she has enjoyed her time in private practice, she said she’s aspired to be a…
The Indiana Court of Appeals has lost a former chief judge who had authored more majority opinions than any of his colleagues during his nearly three decades on the appellate bench.
Elected public officials who haven’t secured bond by the date they are to take office can begin their elected position once they have obtained the bond, ruled the Indiana Court of Appeals.At issue in Tom Shetler Sr. and Suzan Nicholson v. Linda K. Durham, No. 82A01-0706-CV-273, is whether Durham can hold office as elected trustee of Knight Township even though she failed to secure bond by her official start date. Durham was elected trustee in November 2006 and met with the incumbent…
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels wants more legal protection for educators who discipline students to keep order in their schools.A news release issued this morning announced the governor’s plans to work with lawmakers in the coming legislative session to pass a law providing legal immunity for those teachers and school staff members who, in good faith, discipline students. He also wants the Indiana Attorney General’s Office to use its statutory authority to defend any teacher who becomes the target of unreasonable litigation.The…
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on two cases today involving disputed tracts of land on lakefront properties and adverse possession in Kosciusko County. In Daisy Farm Limited Partnership v. Michael and Jill Morrolf, No. 43A04-0707-CV-390, the appellate court reversed the trial court judgment in favor of Michael and Jill Morrolf that a disputed tract of land didn’t pass to Daisy Farm by virtue of adverse possession. Daisy Farm and its predecessors owned the lot adjoining the Morrolfs’ in a neighborhood located…