What the attorney general is watching
The session is about halfway over, but there are still several bills making their way through the General Assembly that the Indiana Attorney General's Office is watching.
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SCOTUS declines to take Indiana case
The nation's highest court refused to take an Indiana case involving a national insurance crime bureau worker's claim that he was a federal employee rather than an independent contractor when he helped with the prosecution of an insurance case.
Magistrate, attorney general bills become law
Magistrates can now be certified as senior judges, and the parents who don't pay ordered child support but gamble at casinos can have their winnings withheld. Those are just two of the many bills Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed into law. The Indiana General Assembly ended its 2010 session March 13, with the fate of the […]
Session nears end, may finish early
This session of the Indiana General Assembly is scheduled to end March 14, but legislators are working to try to finish the session early. It's not known for certain when the House and Senate will wrap up, but both sides have the goal to possibly end by March 7, one week before the constitutionally scheduled deadline.
SCOTUS declines death row inmate’s appeal
The nation's highest court has declined to accept a death row inmate's case, leaving intact an Indiana judge's ruling that OK'd a federal prison policy banning face-to-face interviews with reporters.
Conservation Day highlights energy issues
A renewable electricity standard and net metering expansion were among the legislative priorities addressed at Conservation Day at the Indiana Statehouse Tuesday.
Committee action deadline nearing
The Indiana General Assembly's influential judiciary committees have a packed week ahead where both representatives and senators will review a mass of legislation as deadline approaches.
Plaintiff loses federal challenges to voter ID law
A federal judge ruled against a Cumberland man in his federal challenge to Indiana's voter identification law, but did remand his pending state claims to a Marion Superior Court for consideration.
Racketeering case nets $108 million in damages
A federal judge has ordered an ex-mayor and top allies to pay more than $108 million in damages on a civil racketeering case, but in doing so he's rejected the Indiana Attorney General's most novel and far-reaching legal arguments centered on public corruption in East Chicago.
Feds indict East Chicago mayor, former official
Another East Chicago mayor is now being charged in the federal court for alleged misuse of public money, and defense attorneys say they'll go to trial to fight the charges.
AG to review heath-care bill’s constitutionality
The Indiana Attorney General is going to use one of his little-known authorities to review the constitutionality of the provisions of the recently passed U.S. Senate federal health-care bill. Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced today his office will conduct the analysis, authorized by Indiana Code 4-6-8-2, on particular provisions of Senate Amendment 2786 to the […]
Out-of-state placement bill goes to House
A legislative committee has given its OK to a bill that would repeal a last-minute 2009 special session provision, which gave the Indiana Department of Child Services key control in deciding whether juveniles can be placed outside the state.
Full appeals court decides on IPAS case
Nine months ago, a federal judge in Indianapolis refused to dismiss a case about the state's practices and programs regarding mentally ill inmates, finding an independent state agency had a right to sue on those issues.
Judge certifies sex offender’s class-action suit
A federal judge has certified a convicted sex offender's suit against the Indiana Department of Correction as a class action. The plaintiff claims registrants have no procedure to correct errors on the sex and violent offender registry.
Lawmakers mull veto override on merit selection
Vetoed legislation that would scrap St. Joseph County's merit selection for judicial elections and also add a new three-judge panel to the Indiana Court of Appeals is back in play.
Boy can’t sue for lack of probable cause
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to decide whether Indiana provides a plaintiff an adequate post-deprivation remedy despite the state's recognition of an affirmative immunity defense for government workers acting in the scope of their employment.
What the ACLU of Indiana is tracking
he ACLU of Indiana is keeping an eye on bills that have been introduced this session and is anticipating others that could be introduced, including those that will affect due process, First Amendment rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, Second Amendment rights, and rights based on gender identity and sexual orientation, among other issues covered by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
COA: annexed parcels must touch each other
The Indiana Court of Appeals reaffirmed today that Indiana requires that an annexation ordinance applies only to solid, unbroken areas of land. This issue arose in an annexation dispute between two northern Indiana towns.
Judge blocks DCS rate changes for now
A federal judge in Indianapolis has temporarily blocked the Indiana Department of Child Services from reducing the amounts
it pays to foster and adoptive parents and juvenile-service providers.
Legislature’s end suspenseful for legal community
As the Indiana General Assembly got down to its final hours in a short-session, significant changes for the Hoosier legal community were on the table to possibly increase the number of appellate judges, change how one county chooses its trial judges, and impact how juveniles can be placed outside the state.