Hancock County - The Indiana Lawyer

Courts as conveners: Task force led by Rush releases recommendations for judicial response to opioid crisis

December 11, 2019 | Olivia Covington

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.

Chief deputy prosecutor to fill coming Hancock Superior vacancy

December 6, 2019 | IL Staff

A chief deputy prosecutor will become a Hancock County Superior Court judge, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Friday. Marie D. Castetter will succeed Hancock Superior Court 1 Judge Terry Snow, who will retire Dec. 31.

House Speaker Brian Bosma to retire from Legislature at end of 2020 session

November 19, 2019 | Samm Quinn and Indianapolis Business Journal Staff

House Speaker Brian Bosma announced Tuesday afternoon he’ll step down at the end of the 2020 legislative session — likely in March — and won’t seek re-election as he takes a new position in Republican politics.

Transgender man wins appeal after judge denies gender-marker change

October 22, 2019 | Dave Stafford

A transgender man who was granted a name change but denied his petition for a gender-marker change won on appeal Tuesday, with the Indiana Court of Appeals finding the trial court lacked sufficient cause to deny the petition.

Audit: 3 ex-Greenfield school administrators overpaid $650K

October 22, 2019 | Associated Press

A state audit has found that three Greenfield school administrators were overpaid by more than $650,000 during a nine-year period. Hancock County prosecutors will review the audit to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Applications open for bench vacancies in Cass, Hancock counties

October 15, 2019 | IL Staff

Attorneys in Cass and Hancock counties interested in being considered to fill judicial vacancies will have until almost the end of the month to make their interest known to Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Reversal: USDA farm wetlands ruling arbitrary and capricious

August 9, 2019

A Hancock County farm family denied U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits since the removal of nine trees from their farm in the 1990s prevailed in litigation against the agency. The 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals entered judgment for the family, finding USDA’s rulings in the case arbitrary and capricious.

Ex-prosecutor Cooper suspended after guilty pleas

August 2, 2019

Former Johnson County Prosecutor Bradley Cooper has been suspended from the practice of law in Indiana after being sentenced on three felony domestic battery charges last month.

Prosecutor to victim: ‘I did it’; court accepts Cooper’s domestic violence plea

July 17, 2019

Johnson County Prosecutor Bradley Cooper told his domestic violence victim and former fiancee in court Wednesday “I did it … I did it all” as a judge accepted his guilty plea to felony counts that terminated his ability to serve in his elected office. Also Wednesday, the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission moved to suspend Cooper from the practice of law.

Johnson County prosecutor Cooper to resign after domestic battery sentencing

July 17, 2019

Johnson County Prosecutor Bradley Cooper will resign from his elected office Wednesday after he is sentenced for felony and misdemeanor domestic battery charges, according to court records.

COA orders hearing, possible release, for man in custody

June 27, 2019

Under unusual circumstances, the Indiana Court of Appeals is asking the state to explain why a man is in custody after a chain of events stemming from charges upon which he has not been arrested.

Reversal reinstates wrongful arrest suit against conservation officer

April 25, 2019

Summary judgment for a conservation officer was reversed Thursday after the Indiana Court of Appeals found, among other things, that his actions in procuring the prosecution of a woman who killed his dog were not noncriminal.

Prosecutor Cooper facing 540 days of probation for guilty pleas

April 16, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

Elected Johnson County prosecutor Bradley D. Cooper pleaded guilty Monday to felony and misdemeanor charges, including criminal confinement and domestic battery. A plea agreement calls for him to serve 540 days of probation.

Tax Court vacates previous remand in McCordsville dispute

March 8, 2019

Three months after remanding a dispute to the Indiana Board of Tax Review with instructions to conduct another hearing, the Indiana Tax Court has vacated that opinion and ruled the claims by co-trustees are barred and untimely.

Tax court affirms jurisdiction, McCordsville land assessment

December 6, 2018

The Indiana Tax Court affirmed that it had subject matter jurisdiction over a trust’s claims of an invalid annexation and storm water charges on its farmland, but ultimately found that the Indiana Board of Tax Review did not err in upholding the assessment of the land.

COA: Deputy’s hearsay wouldn’t change resisting conviction

October 9, 2018

A habitual offender convicted of resisting law enforcement could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday that a trial court’s error in admitting hearsay evidence in his case made a fair trial impossible.

Sheriff wants to use trailers to solve jail overcrowding

September 10, 2018

A central Indiana sheriff has a novel solution for jail overcrowding: lock inmates up in semi-trailers next to the jail in Greenfield.

7th Circuit agrees Fortville water suit should be barred

May 30, 2018

A 14^th Amendment complaint challenging the procedure Fortville follows when disconnecting a resident’s water service will not proceed after the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the issue raised in the complaint has already been resolved through previous litigation.

Hendricks Regional, Hall Render face $50M lawsuit over failed deal

March 21, 2018

A lawsuit against Hendricks Regional Health and an Indianapolis law firm representing the hospital group alleges they used “malicious, oppressive, willful, wanton, and/or reckless conduct,” conspiring to squelch a competitor’s deal to operate 23 Indiana care facilities after Hendricks’ contract was terminated.

School threats can lead to severe consequences for juveniles’ impulses

March 20, 2018

A sampling of recent incidents includes a 12-year-old boy arrested for writing a threat against his classmates at Greenfield Intermediate School; a teenage girl at Austin High School arrested and charged with juvenile delinquency/intimidation for making threats to “harm others”; and a 17-year-old boy arrested and charged with felony intimidation for writing a threat on a bathroom stall at F.J. Reitz High School in Evansville.

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