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Test run for SCOTUS arguments

An Indiana case goes up to the U.S. Supreme Court in the final week of March to determine whether a man who’s been found competent to stand trial is competent to represent himself in those court proceedings.Before that happens, though, the defense team representing the Indianapolis man is at the University of Illinois College of Law in Chicago getting a test run today in a mock argument of Indiana v. Ahmad Edwards, No. 07-208, which will go before the nation’s highest court…

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Suspended attorney gets 3 more months

An Indianapolis attorney is getting one last warning from the Indiana Supreme Court before being suspended indefinitely from practicing law.Attorney Wilburn G. Lowry of Marion County received an additional 90 days on his suspension handed down nearly a year ago, with the court specifically noting in its Jan. 11, 2008, order that “any future suspension for failure to meet CLE or dues requirements shall result in an indefinite suspension.”In the order In the Matter of Contempt of the Supreme Court of…

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Court sanctions Allen County judge

The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended Allen Superior Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger for three days without pay as part of an agreement to resolve a judicial misconduct action.

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Court rules on environmental cleanup case

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the statute of limitations on a claim for contribution toward cleanup costs doesn’t begin until the owner is ordered to clean up the property, regardless of whether the owner should have known about the contamination earlier. The issue in Richard U. Pflanz and Delores J. Pflanz v. Merrill Foster, individually, Merrill Foster d/b/a/ Friendly Foster’s Service, and Sunoco Inc. (R&M),  No. 36S01-0710-CV-425, is when the 10-year statute of limitations began on a claim for…

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Applicants sought for $90,000 in grant funds

The Heartland Pro Bono Council, which serves Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby counties in central Indiana, received a cy pres award of more than $65,000 late last year and the organization is looking to distribute the money in the upcoming months. That amount, along with other funds the HPBC has received in cy pres monies in recent years – totaling $90,000 – will be given in one grant or multiple grants sometime after June 5, 2008.Heartland is…

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Hammond to host appeals court arguments

The Indiana Court of Appeals travels to Hammond April 7 to hear arguments in a case involving a dispute after the sale of real estate. Arguments begin at 10 a.m. CST in the Lake Superior Court, Civil Division No. 1 Courtroom, 232 Russell St., Hammond. In the case, Gladys E. Tobias v. Margaret and Thomas Mannella, No. 45A03-0708-CV-373, on appeal from Lake Superior Court, Judges Patricia Riley, James Kirsch, and Margret Robb are asked to decide whether the trial court erred…

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Study to examine trial court reform

The Indiana Supreme Court's Division of State Court Administration is working with the Indiana University Center for Urban Policy and Environment to study ways to make the state's trial courts more equitable and efficient.

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Justices affirm sentence in child torture case

For the first time, the Indiana Supreme Court today affirmed a trial court’s sentence of life without parole for a Lafayette mother who had pleaded guilty to torturing and killing her stepdaughter.In Michelle Gauvin v. State of Indiana, No. 79S00-0702-CR-65, the state’s highest court ruled 4-1 in a direct appeal that Tippecanoe Superior Judge Thomas Busch correctly sentenced the Lafayette mother for murder, confinement, and neglect of her 4-year-old stepdaughter, Aiyana. The girl died from head trauma in March 2005 after months…

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Attorney spares client death sentence

An Indianapolis defense attorney who is nationally recognized as a death-penalty expert capped a two-month trial in New Hampshire this week, successfully keeping her client off death row and preventing him from becoming the first person to be executed in that state in 70 years.

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Judges: Evidence proves scienter in fraud case

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld fines against two men convicted of defrauding investors, finding a reasonable jury would have found them guilty of scienter even though the defendants didn’t take the stand. In Thursday’s ruling in United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Melvin R. Lyttle and Paul E. Knight, Nos. 07-2466, 07-2467, Melvin Lyttle and Paul Knight appealed the $110,000 fines each got following a grant of summary judgment in favor of the SEC on a variety of…

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State settles with legal malpractice insurer

A legal malpractice insurance carrier has agreed to pay $16.5 million to Indiana's insurance department, settling a federal lawsuit that had come on the heels of a state malpractice claim where an Indianapolis law firm got hit with an $18 million verdict.

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Court: evidence doesn’t support sentence

The Indiana Supreme Court threw out a life-without-parole sentence for felony murder because there wasn’t proof the killing was “intentional,” as state law requires for that penalty.In Hobert Alan Pittman v. State of Indiana, No. 31S00-0610-CR-355, Hobert Alan Pittman appealed his convictions and sentence of two consecutive life sentences for murdering his father and stepgrandmother, as well as a 73-year sentence for convictions of attempted murder, theft, auto theft, and conspiracy to commit burglary. Pittman’s stepmother, Linda, and stepgrandmother, Myrtle, were returning…

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Kazakhstan group visits Marion County courts

A group of about two dozen public administrators from Kazakhstan are in Indianapolis today learning about the state and local courts systems. The group visited the Marion County courts this afternoon.Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of Marion Superior Court welcomed them and gave an introduction about Marion County courts. She discussed the election process and the day-to-day work of a judge. After learning about our judicial system, the group toured several courtrooms and watched a jury trial, said Marion County Court Administrator Glenn…

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Court: Evidence shows car was a gift

In a case of first impression, the Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that a husband gave his wife a car as a gift, despite registering the title in both his name and his wife's name.

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Restitution can’t include security system costs

State statute doesn’t allow trial courts to order restitution to pay for installation of a security system in victims’ homes, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided today.Ruling on Keith Elton Rich v. State of Indiana, No. 79A05-0712-CR-687, the appellate court reversed Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Thomas Busch’s restitution order issued in October 2007. Rich had pleaded guilty to burglary and marijuana possession and received a 14-year sentence that was partially suspended to probation. As a condition of probation, he also was ordered to…

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National Crime Victims’ Rights Week events

To observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which kicked off April 13 and lasts through April 19, many communities in Indiana have organized events to recognize crime victims, survivors, and the service providers who come to their aid.Some events around the state include:Victim Assistance Candlelight Vigil, 5:30 p.m. today at the Allen County Courthouse, 715 S. Calhoun St., Fort Wayne. The event is sponsored by Fort Wayne Police Department Victim Assistance. Understanding & Investing in Children Trapped in Domestic Violence, 8…

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Counties, courts recover from flooding

Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner rushed to his downtown Franklin office on Saturday to save computers and files from floodwater.At first, water was about an inch high. Within an hour, the floodwater had creeped higher – he was being shocked while trying to salvage computers. The water suddenly reached 4 feet, making the prosecutor’s office look more like an aquarium than an office. Rushing floodwater rose even higher, crushing doors shut, trapping him inside so that he couldn’t even escape through…

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