The Southern District of Indiana collected more than $10 million from criminal and civil actions and asset forfeitures in fiscal year 2019, with more than $3 million collected through asset forfeitures.
An Indiana man charged in the 2018 slayings of two people found in a nature preserve and an abandoned farmhouse will act as his own attorney, a judge has ruled. Madison Circuit Court 6 Judge Mark Dudley granted Daniel Lee Jones’ request to act as his own lawyer, but his public defender will serve as stand-by counsel during the trial.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has vacated an order establishing paternity for man after genetic testing revealed he was not the biological father of a child he and the child’s mother claimed was his. Paternity was instead ordered for the child’s revealed biological father.
A man injured by a fireworks explosion lost an appeal for worker’s compensation benefits, with the Indiana Court of Appeals finding his story explaining how the mishap occurred a bit too farfetched.
The National Judicial Opioid Task Force was created in 2017 to delve into ways the judiciary could get a handle on the opioid crisis. Co-chaired by Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, the task force’s work culminated late last month in the release of a report that includes four findings and six recommendations for how courts can respond to the current drug scourge and be better prepared for the next addiction crisis.
The term “excessive fine” is understandable. Unless you are a member of the Indiana Supreme Court. Then, in the context of civil asset forfeiture, the term becomes an enigma to be parsed in three dozen pages of ridiculous legal logic that even one of the five justices confessed he could not comprehend.
An Indiana civil forfeiture case that made its way to the United States Supreme Court will now return to the Grant Superior Court after the Indiana Supreme Court developed a framework for determining if the forfeiture of property is excessive under the Eighth Amendment.
Across Indiana, 44 local jails are currently at capacity. But if half of all pretrial detainees were released, that number would fall to 11. A key lawmaker used that statistic Friday to demonstrate the possible benefits in Indiana’s efforts to release low-level, low-risk offenders as an alternative to cash bail.
A central Indiana school bus driver is suing the district that employs him, alleging his First Amendment rights were violated when he was suspended after speaking out against proposed changes that would have forced some children to travel further to attend school. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the federal lawsuit last month on behalf of Madison-Grant United School Corp. bus driver James “Randy” Sizelove.
A Marion woman charged in the strangulation death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter has waived her right to an attorney and says she will represent herself in court.
An Indiana woman who was charged Friday in the strangulation death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter told investigators she “was very angry” when she killed the child and hid her body in a shed, court documents allege. Amanda D. Carmack, 34, was charged with murder and strangulation in Skylea Carmack’s killing.
A Grant County woman who reported her 10-year-old stepdaughter missing last weekend was arrested Wednesday in the girl’s death after her body was found hidden inside a plastic trash bag in a shed behind their home.
If you’ve ever been cited for violating a local ordinance, odds are you’ve ended up in a city or town court. While there have been calls to abolish them, the small-matter venues also have their defenders.
For the third time in three years, Marion resident Tyson Timbs took his case before a Supreme Court. The man whose name became noted civil forfeiture caselaw said after arguments Friday, “I feel like I stand for something now.”
The US Supreme Court decision in a landmark Indiana civil forfeiture case ruled that the Eighth Amendment Excessive Fines Clause is incorporated to the states, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s opinion declined to answer one key question: When does the Eighth Amendment prohibit civil forfeiture?
The Indiana Court of Appeals will travel to the northern and southern parts of the state this week to hear oral arguments in two cases, one involving murder and the other involving drug possession.
A Grant County couple must now abide by a Department of Natural Resources order to bring a dam into compliance with the Dam Safety Act following a divided Indiana Supreme Court decision that affirmed the order’s enforcement.
A former Indiana town marshal is pleading guilty after authorities alleged he broke into the home of a local elected official and stole pain medication while still wearing his police uniform. Former Van Buren Town Marshal Donald R. Bosley admitted during a hearing on Dec. 19 that he entered the home of Van Buren Town Council President Tony Manry in May and stole the medication.
An Indiana case that could decide whether the Eighth Amendment protection against excessive fines applies to the states will be heard at the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday.
A Marion attorney already under interim and administrative suspensions has been suspended from the practice of law for at least three years for professional misconduct, including her continual abuse of cocaine.