IndyBar: One Good Thing from the Past Year: We Slowed Down
A lot has changed in both our professional and personal lives since March of 2020, but not all of them have been bad.
Family Law
Articles
Eastern Indiana woman gets 55 years in slaying of child’s father
A judge sentenced an eastern Indiana woman to 55 years in prison Tuesday after a jury convicted her of murder in the shooting death of her child’s father.
Kids’ Voice formalizes $5.4 million CASA/GAL contract with Indianapolis
Kids’ Voice of Indiana has signed a contract with the city of Indianapolis to provide guardian ad litem and court appointed special advocate services to Marion Superior Courts through the end of 2023, with the nonprofit set to receive $5.4 million for the remainder of 2021.
Angola lawyer reprimanded for not telling opposing counsel about deposition
An Angola lawyer who failed to inform a litigant’s lawyers that the litigant was asked to sit for a deposition has been publicly reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court.
Evansville attorney helps women engage in community through virtual nonprofit
Fulfilling a lifelong dream can be daunting, even unattainable. It can take years before someone takes steps toward fulfilling a goal set for themselves. But a young Evansville attorney is breaking walls and building new dreams daily, balancing both a legal practice and a female-focused not-for-profit organization.
Kids’ Voice taking over GAL/CASA services after Child Advocates walks
Kids’ Voice of Indiana will be the sole operator of the guardian ad litem and court appointed special advocate programs for Marion County juvenile courts after Child Advocates, which had provided those services for decades, rejected the subcontract agreement the two organizations had been negotiating.
Calls to Indiana child abuse hotline down during pandemic
Calls to Indiana’s child abuse and neglect hotline fell by more than 10% last year compared to the previous two years, and an expert said that may reflect the isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kids’ Voice, Child Advocates in contract talks after report cited cost overruns
With just three weeks before its contract with the city of Indianapolis ends, Child Advocates is trying to negotiate a subcontract with Kids’ Voice so it can continue providing volunteers and staff to advocate for youngsters in Indiana’s child welfare system. Meanwhile, a report questioned longtime contractor Child Advocates’ cost overruns.
LaPorte County apartment accused of violating fair housing acts
The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana has filed a complaint in federal court against a Michigan City apartment complex, claiming the “discriminatory practices” of the residential provider deprived a Hoosier family of a place to live.
COA upholds judgment for teens’ doctors on parents’ constitutional claims
Tipton County parents who alleged their children were unconstitutionally treated by doctors while in a grandmother’s care failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that summary judgment for the doctors was inappropriate.
Marion County switches CASA contract from Child Advocates to Kids’ Voice
Kids’ Voice of Indiana, a nonprofit serving children and families, will take over the training and operation of the court-appointed special advocate program in Marion County courts May 1 after the city of Indianapolis switched the contract for the services from Child Advocates.
Proposed parenting time revisions open for comments
The Domestic Relations Committee of the Indiana Judicial Conference is seeking feedback on proposed changes to Indiana’s Parenting Time Guidelines, including new guidelines on the concept of “shared parenting.”
Fighting for love: Immigration attorneys say challenges for unmarried couples rise amid COVID
Immigration attorneys say international couples attempting to reunite during the pandemic are feeling desperate as borders between countries are closed to foreigners and backlogs continue to mount.
Start Page: Digital evidence pilot program clears preflight checklist
The Hamilton County courts have been piloting, in select family law cases, a program for the online submission of trial exhibits through a website called CaseLines, part of Thomson Reuters. Attorneys and their teams can log in to a website, upload their digital exhibits for a hearing and the participants have access to those files for the hearing. The website is one place where the exhibits are stored and all participants can access at the hearing.
Indiana asks SCOTUS to review mature-minors abortion law a second time
A case challenging an Indiana abortion law that requires “mature minors” to notify their parents before getting an abortion is back before the United States Supreme Court, with the state of Indiana asking the justices to take the case to provide clarity on a legal issue that it says caused the 7th Circuit to “(throw) up its hands in frustration.”
Mom loses appeal of denied relocation petition
A Dubois County mother who wanted to move with her child to New Mexico has lost her appeal of the denial of her relocation petition.
COA rejects vagueness, sufficiency arguments against domestic violence conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a domestic battery conviction against a man who claimed he wasn’t actually married to his victim. The panel also rejected arguments that the statute was unconstitutionally vague.
Bill giving guardians authority over final dispositions gets House support after Senate debate
A bill to extend the duties of guardians when an incapacitated adult dies was much better received in an Indiana House committee Tuesday than when the bill was introduced in the Senate.
Even virtually, law school clinics teach value of personal connection
Talking and connecting is important in any legal setting, but for the clinics at law schools around Indiana, in-person interaction not only helps the students learn valuable skills, it also may provide low-income individuals the only means to get legal help.
Ex-wife loses appeal in property, contempt dispute
A woman who sought to hold her ex-husband in contempt for failing to sell or refinance their family home has lost her appeal of the contempt denial, with the Indiana Court of Appeals noting the woman repeatedly “thwarted” the man’s attempts to comply with their dissolution agreement.