LaPorte woman gets probation in assault on Delta flight
An Indiana woman who had been drinking wine before she attacked a Delta Air Lines crew and federal agents on a Michigan-bound flight has been sentenced to six months of probation.
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Jury seated in first federal opioid trial, but settlement talks go on
A jury was seated Thursday in Cleveland for the first federal trial on the opioid crisis, but the push to settle the case before opening arguments next week continued, with company officials expected to gather for further talks. Published reports said officials were negotiating a potential $50 billion settlement.
D.C. appeals court rules House should get Trump financial records
A federal appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump’s financial records must be turned over to the House of Representatives.
Medicaid lawsuits headed to D.C. appellate court
Two lawsuits similar to the one filed against Indiana’s plan to impose new restrictions and work requirements on Medicaid recipients are scheduled for oral arguments Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Judge won’t dismiss case on wages of immigrant detainees
Washington state’s effort to force a privately run immigration jail to pay its detainees minimum wage for work they perform can continue after all, a federal judge in Tacoma ruled Wednesday.
7th Circuit: Corruption concerns regarding ex-Biomet employee not defamation
A former Biomet employee has lost his argument before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that he was defamed by his former employer when it included his name in a list for the Department of Justice as part of a corruption investigation.
Southern District clerk Briggs to step down next year
Longtime clerk Laura Briggs of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana will retire from her post in mid-2020. “I have loved it,” Briggs said Monday about her 21-year tenure as clerk, a post from which she expects to retire in May or June.
Trump lets states, cities refuse refugees for 1st time in US
When President Donald Trump dramatically slashed the number of refugees allowed into the U.S., he also gave state and local governments the authority to refuse to accept them for the first time in history.
Desegregation advocate to mark Hispanic Heritage Month
A woman who fought to desegregate California public schools when she was 9 years old will discuss the lawsuit that altered the course of her life next week during a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration hosted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Latino Affairs Committee.
Federal judge tosses conviction in IU student’s murder for ineffective counsel
The man convicted in the May 2000 murder of Indiana University student Jill Behrman has been ordered released from prison after a federal judge granted him habeas relief. In reaching that decision, the Southern Indiana District Court determined the Indiana Court of Appeals improperly evaluated the defendant’s allegations of prejudice.
Federal judge denies motion to dismiss suit against Jackson Co. nativity scene
A southern Indiana woman accusing her local government of endorsing Christianity has cleared the first hurdle of a motion to dismiss her claim that a nativity scene placed on the Jackson County Courthouse’s front lawn violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
COA affirms denial of insurer’s motion to set aside default judgment
An insurance company failed to persuade the Indiana Court of Appeals to set aside a $400,000 default judgment against its insured defendants based on the argument that it had an interest in limiting future liability related to the underlying truck crash liability lawsuit.
AG Hill asks full 7th Circuit to review blocked abortion consent law
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc review to reconsider a challenge to an Indiana law requiring parents be notified before their mature minor child gets an abortion.
Lawyer: Jury verdict should end Indianapolis skyline photo lawsuits
A federal jury in Indianapolis ruled against an attorney photographer Tuesday who has sued hundreds of people for using his online photo of the city’s sunny skyline. The verdict raised dark clouds over the presumption that the lawyer owns a legitimate, enforceable copyright of the photo.
Illinois man reaches plea deal in Indiana shootout with ATF agents
An Illinois man is expected to plead guilty in an Indiana shootout that killed one of his associates and wounded a federal agent.
ILS joins effort to block Indiana’s Medicaid work requirements
A lawsuit challenging Indiana’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients, which according to the state’s own estimates would result in roughly 24,000 people losing health care coverage each year, was filed in federal court Monday.
Proper forum for dispute is tax court, not bankruptcy
A federal appellate panel has answered questions as to whether a bankruptcy court can determine the amount of a debtor’s tax obligations when the debtor is unlikely to pay them. Although a U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana answered yes to that question, a district judge disagreed.
Rush County fireman, special deputy charged with child sex crimes
A Rush County law enforcement official who works with the sheriff’s department and Rushville Fire Department has been charged with sex crimes against children.
Federal court blocks Indiana law banning smokable hemp
Indiana’s law criminalizing smokable hemp has been snuffed out, at least temporarily, by a federal court, which found the proponents of hemp made convincing arguments that the federal farm bill of 2018, expanding the definition of hemp and removing the plant from the federal schedule of controlled substances, pre-empted the state statute.
Pittsboro must pay officer more than $70K after wiretapping verdict
A Pittsboro law enforcement officer who won a $15,000 damages award on a claim that police officials were illegally recording his conversations has also been awarded more than $70,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.