Articles

JTAC fee, court-reporter licensing bills proposed

Court reporters would need licenses, there would be more money to implement the statewide case management system in trial courts, and convicted sex offenders would be banned from public libraries if these bills introduced this session become law.

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General Assembly returns for 2011 session

The Indiana Senate and House of Representatives reconvened this afternoon to begin the 2011 long session. The legislators still have time to file bills, but there are already several bills introduced that may affect Indiana courts and the legal community.

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ITLA focuses on education, legislation, amicus briefs

As the year comes to a close, the president of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association said the organization of about 1,000 members will continue its three major goals: to provide educational opportunities, to write amicus briefs when there is a broader issue that can apply to cases and clients of trial attorneys, and to track bills as they are submitted by legislators for the 2011 session of the Indiana Legislature.

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Fewer filings, newer trends

The number of cases filed in the state courts dropped slightly in 2009 from the previous year, but the nearly two million filings still amounted to the second-highest number ever for Indiana.

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Attorney general wants to rewrite civil forfeiture law

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is asking legislators to make changes to the state’s civil forfeiture law during the 2011 session. He wants to work with lawmakers to create and pass a bill that establishes a formula on how forfeitures would be distributed and enacts stricter regulations on the use of outside counsel to file civil forfeiture actions on behalf of prosecutors.

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Legislators meet for Organization Day

Today is the 2011 Organization Day for Indiana lawmakers, typically a ceremonial day. But one tradition was slightly altered due to Secretary of State Todd Rokita’s absence.

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Judges’ right to bear arms (sometimes)

The Commission on Courts didn’t recommend any state statute changes that would have allowed judges authority to carry weapons in places county ordinances or laws currently prevent.

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Commission on Courts makes recommendations

As the interim legislative calendar wound down to make way for the next Indiana General Assembly session, the Commission on Courts has made recommendations on new court requests and discussed issues that impact funding and structure of statewide trial courts.

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Lawyer-legislator’s attacker on trial

The man accused of attacking a lawyer-legislator last year because of a 23-year-old legal dispute is on trial in Hamilton Superior Court, facing multiple felony charges and potentially 100 years or more in prison.

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No issue with all legislative logrolling

The Indiana Supreme Court offered some clues recently about why it’s ignored repeated attempts to address the issue
of legislative logrolling, where multiple unrelated changes are stuffed into one massive bill that becomes law.

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