Lawmakers return to Statehouse for start of 2021 session
Indiana lawmakers return to the Statehouse on Monday for the start of a legislative session that will be conducted unlike any other before it.
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Man gets 115 years for killing Goshen professor, wounding wife
An Indiana man has been sentenced to 115 years in prison for fatally stabbing a Goshen College professor and leaving the man’s wife with nearly two dozen stab wounds during a home invasion in 2011.
Lawsuit alleges Purdue breached contract in Peru projects
Siblings who contacted Purdue University about helping to lower the alpaca mortality rate in their native Peru are now suing, claiming the West Lafayette school has garnered millions of dollars from additional projects they helped establish but is refusing to pay them for their work.
Holcomb’s agenda calls for increasing K-12 funding, continuing existing programs
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said he will try to increase funding for K-12 education in the state’s next two-year budget and, at a minimum, restore previous funding levels for higher education institutions.
COVID puts Legislature in fiscal vise in upcoming budget session
As Indiana lawmakers prepare to craft the state’s next two-year budget, leaders promise K-12 education will be the top priority — but they also acknowledge that every line item in the spending plan is at risk of cuts.
Justices deny archdiocese’s bid to dismiss fired Cathedral teacher’s case
A four-member Indiana Supreme Court denied a petition Thursday filed by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to stop the lawsuit brought by a social studies teacher who was fired from Cathedral High School for being in a same-sex marriage.
Justices reprimand lawyer for trying to ‘silence’ student in Park Tudor scandal
The prominent Indianapolis employment law attorney who faced professional discipline charges related to his handling of a former high school basketball coach’s student sexting scandal has received a public reprimand from the Indiana Supreme Court. A dissenting judge, however, would not impose any sanction on Ice Miller partner Michael Blickman.
Supreme Court rejects appeal to limit transgender students
The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up an appeal from parents in Oregon who want to prevent transgender students from using locker rooms and bathrooms of the gender with which they identify, rather than their sex assigned at birth.
Federal courts invite families to celebrate Bill of Rights through virtual event
As courts nationwide are celebrating the anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution’s first 10 Amendments during the month of December, families are invited to join in during a Wednesday evening event.
Building civic-minded Hoosiers: Task force recommends expanding civic education statewide
The 2019 Indiana Civic Health Index called attention to the issue of community participation and recommended the appointment of a committee to examine civic education. As a result, the Indiana Bar Foundation Civic Education Task Force was formed. At a Nov. 18 press conference, officials presented a final report urging a series of recommendations to improve civic education in Indiana.
Notre Dame Law clinic designed to help innocent inmates
For the last few years, students at the Notre Dame Law School have been working in conjunction with a Chicago organization designed to seek justice for wrongfully convicted individuals. Now, the law school has graduated to a new level of independence in its wrongful-conviction work, opening the Exoneration Justice Project this semester.
Indiana to switch to Uniform Bar Exam in 2021
Indiana has decided to join the growing majority of states and adopt the Uniform Bar Exam in July 2021, according to an announcement Tuesday from the Indiana Supreme Court. Justices also announced Tuesday that the February 2021 Bar Exam will be given remotely.
Memorial scholarship honors late Floyd County prosecutor Henderson
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council Board of Directors has approved a memorial scholarship fund honoring long time Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson.
Ex-Purdue prof, wife get probation for research funds fraud
A former Purdue University professor and his wife have been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay a combined $1.6 million in restitution after pleading guilty to using more than $1 million in federal research funds for their own personal expenses.
Student told to remove shirt protesting racism sues school
A Wabash County student is suing his high school after an incident earlier this year when he was told by school officials to remove his shirt protesting systemic racism.
Holcomb names adviser Jenner first Indiana education secretary
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has tapped his senior education adviser to serve as the state’s first secretary of education, marking the first time in more than a century the state schools superintendent position isn’t decided by voters.
COVID-19 school turmoil, teacher pay face Indiana lawmakers
The turmoil that Indiana schools have faced from the coronavirus pandemic will be a top concern of state legislators during their upcoming session, the leader of the Indiana House said ahead of lawmakers convening for Organization Day.
With COVID-19 surging, schools suspend in-person education
Facing grim conditions, school systems around the U.S. and abroad are taking tough action. Boston, Detroit, Indianapolis and Philadelphia are among those that are closing classrooms or abandoning plans to offer in-person classes later in the school year.
Warrant issued for former University of Evansville coach
A judge has issued an arrest warrant for former University of Evansville basketball coach Walter McCarty after he missed a court hearing in a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of a bank.
IU McKinney opening certified IP law clinic
A long-held dream, a handful of alumni and a student whose summer externship was scuttled all came together to create and launch the first intellectual property law clinic at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.