Indiana Lawyer’s top story of 2018 began inside an Indianapolis bar in the cool early-morning hours of Thursday, March 15. Attorney General Curtis Hill had had a few drinks. A few too many, several witnesses would later claim.
The spray-painting of a swastika outside a suburban Indianapolis synagogue this summer was the final straw for Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who quickly called for Indiana to join the 45 states that have hate crime laws.
The Indiana Department of Child Services is requesting a 42 percent increase in its budget next year compared to the funding it was designated to receive this year in the previous budget cycle. The proposed budget from DCS would include $965 million from the state’s general fund per year for the next two fiscal years.
Allen County Magistrate Jennifer DeGroote has been appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Allen Superior Court. DeGroote will succeed Judge Stanley A. Levine, who will retire Dec. 31.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has appointed a magistrate judge as the newest judge of the Lake Superior Court and will soon begin the process of filling another Lake County court vacancy.
The Indiana Department of Correction has again lost a suit in which it argues to keep secret the drugs it would use in a lethal injection. The judge in the case extraordinarily outlined how the DOC, the governor’s office, and the Indiana General Assembly appeared to directly undermine her order that the department disclose the drugs it might use in a potential execution.
Interviews with 19 applicants for the Lake Superior Court opening left by the resignation of Judge Jesse M. Villalpando are scheduled to take place next month over a two-day period.
An Allen County magistrate judge has been selected to fill one of two upcoming vacancies in the Allen County courts, and the successor has been chosen for a longtime jurist in Monroe County.
Special prosecutor Daniel Sigler said he believes the four women who accused Attorney General Curtis Hill of groping them, but he said he chose not to file criminal charges against Hill because believing the women would not be enough in a court of law.
Facing the prospect of lawsuits from four women he is accused of groping, embattled Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill vowed through his legal team Tuesday to stay in office. A special prosecutor Tuesday declined to criminally charge Hill but said the AG admitted he consumed a significant amount of alcohol and touched his accusers the night of the alleged incidents.
While a special prosecutor Tuesday morning said he would file no criminal charges against Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill on allegations he groped four women, the prosecutor said Hill admitted that he consumed a significant amount of alcohol and admitted to touching the alleged victims, who said Tuesday they intend to sue Hill and the state.
The Indiana Department of Child Services is spending $22 million on raises for staff as part of an effort to improve the agency that’s seen rising caseloads and internal battles. The raises will take effect Wednesday for more than 3,600 employees, or about 87 percent of the agency’s staff.
There are many adjectives friends and colleagues used to describe Elizabeth Tavitas, the newest Indiana Court of Appeals judge, when they gathered to celebrate her ceremonial robing on Monday. But as each speaker described their unique experiences with Tavitas, there was a common theme running through each set of remarks: service.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration has 30 days to turnover emails that passed between former Gov. Mike Pence, the Trump Organization and Carrier Corp. related to the negotiations that led then newly elected President Donald Trump to take credit for saving the Indianapolis plant from closing.
Newest Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth F. Tavitas will be ceremonially sworn into office next week when the court hosts a public robing ceremony.
Indiana’s House speaker said Thursday a top-ranking Republican lawmaker is in critical condition after a motorcycle accident in Michigan. Rep. Tim Brown had been placed in a medically induced coma after the crash.
While the firestorm over the Indiana Department of Child Services has died down, the Indiana General Assembly is preparing to begin its examination of the agency and possibly make recommendations for action during the 2019 legislative session. The Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Room 431 of the Statehouse to review a host of issues related to DCS.
Applications are now being accepted to fill a vacancy on the Lake County Superior Court created when Judge Elizabeth F. Tavitas joined the Indiana Court of Appeals last month.
Attorneys interested in filling vacancies on the Monroe Circuit Court and Terre Haute City Court have just days remaining to make their interest known. Wednesday, Sept. 5 is the deadline to submit applications for Gov. Eric Holcomb’s appointments to both positions.
Two magistrate judges and a practicing attorney have been named as finalists to fill an upcoming vacancy in the Allen Superior Court Criminal Division. It’s one of two pending vacancies on the state court bench in Fort Wayne.