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Equal pay lawsuit heads to trial

A $42 million class action lawsuit involving Indiana state employees is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 19 in Marion Superior Court. The lawsuit was brought by state employees who worked more hours than other state employees in comparable jobs. In Paula Brattain, et al. v. Richmond State Hospital, et al., No. 49D11-0108-CP-1309, the class seeks compensation from the state for an estimated 15,000 state employees who were required to work a 40-hour week while some employees in similar positions at…

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Lawyer convicted of battery, confinement

An Indiana attorney often in trouble with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission was convicted Friday of crimes against a woman in a wheelchair. Northern Indiana attorney Michael Haughee was convicted of sexual battery and criminal confinement, both Class D felonies, and interference with the reporting of a crime, a Class A misdemeanor. Haughee was arrested in October 2006 following an incident at the woman’s home. Haughee claimed he went to the woman’s house to register her to vote. At the…

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Marion Superior Judge Charles Deiter dies

Indiana has lost a longtime Marion County judge who’s been on the probate bench for three decades and was considered one of the state’s top probate jurists.Marion Superior Judge Charles Deiter, 71, who presided over the court’s probate division, lost a battle to cancer this morning, according to his colleague and longtime friend Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.”He was a wonderful judge, someone who was well-loved by everyone in the community and on the bench,” said Judge Pratt, who said the two…

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Justices grant transfer in 2 cases

The Indiana Supreme Court granted two transfers this week.Justices will consider an Indiana State University case involving unemployment benefits for a discharged university professor, and another case delving into the attorney general’s power to demand discovery in consumer complaint investigations.One transfer comes in the combined appeals of Liberty Publishing Inc. and Nu-Sash of Indianapolis v. Steve Carter, No. 49A02-0606-CV-502, which the state’s appellate court ruled on June 25. The appeals court affirmed Marion Superior Court judgments that the attorney general has the…

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COA to hear sex offender arguments Monday

The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments in a case regarding the state’s sex offender residency law March 31 at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis.In State of Indiana v. Anthony W. Pollard, Pollard is a convicted sex offender who has lived for 20 years within 1,000 feet of a property where children could gather. He was charged for violating Indiana Code 35-42-4-11 and told that he could no longer live in his home. Pollard argues the law was…

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New legal center opens in Marion County

The Marion Superior Court Family Resource Center – created by the Family Court Project for families with legal disputes – opens Monday and will offer easier access to information about legal and social services resources. The center will provide resources and referrals for various services such as domestic violence, protective orders, substance-abuse treatment options, and how to find an attorney. Residents filing pro se will be able to view videos that walk them through the self-representation process, as well as use…

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Lack of surgery doesn’t support jury instruction

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a jury award and remanded for a new trial after ruling there was insufficient evidence to support an affirmative defense of a failure to mitigate damages instruction to the jury because a plaintiff failed to have surgery. In Elwood and Lila Simmons v. Erie Insurance Exchange, No. 32A04-0710-CV-552, the couple appealed a judgment awarding them each $10,000 following an automobile accident involving Elwood and another driver, who was at fault. They filed a complaint seeking underinsured…

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Former Marion Superior Court judge dies

A former Marion Superior Court judge and Indianapolis City-County councilor died March 5 of natural causes. Judge Z. Mae Jimison was the first African-American woman to serve as judge in Marion Superior Court. Judge Jimison, 64, served on the bench from 1996 to 2002 and spent much of that time creating and supervising Marion County’s Drug Court. In 1999, she applied to become a justice on the Indiana Supreme Court after Justice Myra C. Selby announced she would step down to return to…

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Tinder authors first 7th Circuit opinion

Judge John Tinder, formerly of the U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, now on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, released his first authored opinion today with the federal appellate court. Judge Tinder joined the 7th Circuit in January. Judge Tinder wrote the 22-page opinion in Jeanette Petts v. Rockledge Furniture LLC, a division of Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., No. 07-1989, in which he and Judges Kenneth Ripple and Diane Sykes affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court, Western…

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Profession marks 50th Law Day today

Bar associations and courts in Indiana and nationwide are celebrating Law Day this week. Today marks the official 50th anniversary, according to the American Bar Association, which has named this year’s theme, “Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity.”Today, Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard was scheduled to speak at a luncheon and award presentation in Fort Wayne, while members of the St. Joseph and Lake County bar associations, among other attorneys around Indiana, will speak to high school and junior high…

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Parts of Indiana Code now in Spanish

Select portions of the 2006 and 2007 Indiana Code have been translated into Spanish, the Indiana Supreme Court has announced. An alphabetical index of terms and a glossary outlining topic areas also were translated. The goal of the translation is to better serve the Spanish-speaking population and those who represent them. By translating some of the basic codes, interpreters will be able to use the same terms for charges and it will create a standard document of legal terminology. The translations…

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COA panel to consider public access

A three-judge Indiana Court of Appeals panel wants to know why parties have not submitted what it calls “a meaningful public access set of briefs” related to product-liability claims against Indianapolis-based Guidant Corp. The state’s second highest appellate court has a public hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. March 25 in Allianz Insurance Co., et al. v. Guidant Corp., et al., No. 49A05-0704-CV-216, where judges will consider the balance of public interest for access with the need for restricting access relating to the Marion…

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Allen County judge regrets misconduct

An Allen County judge has publicly expressed his deep regret for failing to control his emotions late last year when he verbally berated members of a defendant’s family following a sentencing hearing.Allen Superior Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger filed a formal answer Aug. 8 to the charges lodged against him July 15 by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications. The judicial disciplinary body has charged him with four counts of misconduct for his behavior in a fellow jurist’s courtroom in November.At that…

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Justices rule on sentencing scheme

The Indiana Supreme Court has once again influenced the state’s criminal sentencing scheme in a pair of rulings that are the latest in a post-Blakely world.Justices issued decisions Thursday in Rosalio Pedraza v. State of Indiana, No. 49S04-0711-CR-516, and Michael Sweatt v. State of Indiana, No. 49S02-0805-CR-290, which when read together offer trial courts guidance about using a person’s criminal history and enhancing penalties.The court held that double enhancements are allowed using a single element of criminal history, but consecutive sentences can’t be…

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Post-conviction relief case gets transfer

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer May 2 to a case in which the defendant was denied post-conviction relief. In Roderick Lee v. State of Indiana, No. 27A04-0705-PC-257, Lee filed a petition for relief asserting he received ineffective assistance from his trial and appellate counsel. The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected Lee’s arguments that his trial and appellate counsel – the same attorney – was ineffective because the attorney failed to argue that entering judgments on Lee’s convictions of burglary and attempted robbery violate…

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Court amends public accessibility, other rules

The Indiana Supreme Court has revised its administrative and appellate rules governing how trial courts make records publicly accessible and how appeals are handled in certain cases requiring confidentiality.

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ACLU wins day-old political-sign suit

Within a day of filing a federal lawsuit regarding Plainfield's ordinance restricting political campaign signs, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana can claim another win on an issue that's becoming more prominent statewide.

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Judge argues for suspension, not removal

A Marion Superior judge who's been suspended from the bench pending a final decision from the Indiana Supreme Court believes his penalty should fall somewhere between a public reprimand and removal.

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