The Indiana House on Tuesday approved a hate crimes bill that is receiving mixed support from the business community, with nine Republicans joining all of the Democrats who voted against the measure.
Indiana House Republicans approved hate crimes language Monday that references a list of victims against whom crimes could qualify for harsher penalties — a move lauded by Gov. Eric Holcomb but criticized by two coalitions of businesses and not-for-profits seeking a broader list.
A recently retired Lake Superior Court judge will temporarily return to the bench as a judge pro tempore. The Indiana Supreme Court has appointed former Judge Diane Kavadias Schneider as judge pro tempore in Lake Superior Court, Civil Division 5, in preparation for an upcoming vacancy that will be left by Judge William E. Davis.
Community correction program directors caught between a rock and a hard place may get some breathing room if a bill that would allow the revocation of inmates’ credit time gets the governor’s signature.
The Indiana Supreme Court made its case to the Legislature again this week for an additional $1 million in the state’s next biennial budget to support Hoosier civil legal aid.
For the third time in recent months, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb will select a nominee to appoint as the newest Lake County Superior Court judge.
A judge appointed to the Wabash Superior Court by Gov. Eric Holcomb less than two years ago as a successor to now-Indiana Supreme Court Justice Christopher Goff has died. Judge Amy Catherine Conner Cornell, 42, died Feb. 19 after an illness.
Indiana lawmakers are entering the second half of the legislative session with more than 400 bills still alive, covering issues including teacher pay, gambling and hate crimes.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday he will try to build public support for a hate crimes law, a week after the Republican-dominated state Senate stripped out a list of specific protected traits he had supported to get Indiana off a list of five states without such a law.
Gov. Eric Holcomb says he tried marijuana as a college student, but he doesn’t support efforts to allow medical or recreational marijuana use in Indiana.
The Republican-dominated Indiana Senate passed a stripped-down hate crimes bill Thursday and sent the measure to the House, where Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and others hope the legislation can still be strengthened. The Senate voted 39-10 in favor of the legislation that was changed two days earlier to remove a list of specifically protected characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender identity and race.
After more than three hours of testimony and discussion on Monday morning, the Senate Public Policy Committee voted to send a bias crimes bill to the full Senate for consideration. Senate Bill 12 would give judges the ability to consider whether a crime was committed out of hate or bias toward specific groups of individuals as an aggravating circumstance at sentencing.
A proposed Indiana hate crimes law has been endorsed by a state legislative committee. The Senate Public Policy Committee voted 9-1 on Monday to advance the bill to the full Senate after hearing nearly three hours of public testimony from opponents and supporters of the legislation.
Opponents and supporters of a proposed Indiana hate crimes law are arguing their positions before state legislators. A state Senate committee opened a hearing Monday morning on a bill that would create a law specifically against crimes fueled by biases regarding traits such as race, religion and sexual orientation.
An Indiana legislator wants an investigation into the possible impeachment of state Attorney General Curtis Hill over allegations he drunkenly groped a female lawmaker and three female legislative staffers at a bar. Democratic Rep. Ed DeLaney of Indianapolis said he submitted the request Thursday asking that the House Judiciary Committee investigate Hill’s conduct and whether he should remain in office.
Interviews for a Lake Superior Court vacancy have been rescheduled for March 11, following a postponement due to weather concerns. The interviews were initially scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 31.
A man arrested for smoking a blunt in Indianapolis failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his misdemeanor conviction violated his constitutional rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The appeal also raised the issue of the Hoosier State now being among a minority of states that have yet to legalize marijuana in some form.
Lawyers interested in trial court judgeships in two Indiana counties have three weeks left to apply for vacancies to be filled by appointment by Gov. Eric Holcomb. The vacancies will exist in Kosciusko and Posey Counties, and applications are being accepted until 5 p.m. Feb. 13.
A newly created general counsel position has been announced in the office of Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill. The shift in leadership positions also includes the reassignment of former Department of Child Services Director Mary Beth Bonaventura as Hill’s chief of staff.
A lawsuit naming Gov. Eric Holcomb filed on behalf of a prisoner on Indiana’s death row urges a state court to issue an injunction halting capital punishment and rule that the state’s ultimate criminal penalty violates the Indiana Constitution.