Sometimes you lose the battle but win the war. That happened for at least two Indiana lawyers this year. While their clients lost in court, the results of their cases so struck a nerve that the Indiana General Assembly reacted, passing legislation that enshrined into law relief lawyers and their clients fought for.
The Indiana General Assembly passed laws this year on matters ranging from increasing the smoking and vaping age to laws banning distracted driving, specifically prohibiting the use of a cellphone behind the wheel. The following enrolled acts, followed in parentheses by their corresponding public law numbers, take effect July 1 unless otherwise noted.
Former Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel has won the Democratic nomination for Indiana attorney general, the party announced Wednesday night. Weinzapfel edged state Sen. Karen Tallian in a close race and will challenge the Republican AG nominee, to be decided next month, on the November ballot.
After a federal court ruling that terminated Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill as a defendant in their lawsuit, the four women who accuse Hill of sexual misconduct say they will “continue their pursuit of all available civil claims” against the AG.
A state legislator from Indianapolis resigned his position Monday after being arrested last week. Democratic Rep. Dan Forestal said his resignation as a state representative was effective immediately, calling his time in office the “greatest honor of my lifetime.” Forestal said he would “focus on my mental health and get myself well.”
Indiana Democrats are announcing this week who will run for state attorney general in November. Longtime state Sen. Karen Tallian and former Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel are vying for the nomination, a selection made by state party delegates rather than primary election voters.
A state legislator from Indianapolis was arrested on allegations that he assaulted two sheriff’s deputies while being checked into a hospital. It’s the Democratic representative’s second arrest in less than a year.
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has won a victory in the continued fallout of the sexual misconduct allegations against him, successfully moving a federal judge to dismiss him as a defendant in a civil lawsuit brought against him and the Indiana Legislature. Also, the state lawmaker who helped initiate the complaint has been dismissed as a plaintiff.
It’s now year six of an ongoing battle between the Indiana Department of Correction and a Washington, D.C., lawyer who wants to know the drugs used in Indiana’s lethal injection cocktail and who supplies them. In those six years, a public records request, a lawsuit and a legislative change have propelled the dispute to the Indiana Supreme Court, which now has a consequential ruling in its hands.
The longstanding dispute over whether the Indiana Department of Correction can keep the identities of its lethal-injection drug suppliers secret reached the Indiana Supreme Court this week, with the parties offering strongly divergent views on Hoosier public access laws and constitutional rights.
A white Indiana state lawmaker has been removed from two committees after posting a meme that showed black children in diapers dancing with the caption, “We gon’ get free money!”
The cards have been dealt, and Terre Haute is getting a casino. The Indiana Gaming Commission on Friday awarded a casino license to Spectacle Jack LLC, which plans to build a $120 million casino near Interstate 70 and State Road 46 in Terre Haute.
The husband of a late Indiana legislator convicted of murdering a northwestern Indiana lawyer and family friend will serve his 55-year advisory sentence, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.
A white Indiana state lawmaker who was accused of posting something racist on Facebook last year is defending himself again after he posted a meme that showed black children in diapers dancing with the caption, “We gon’ get free money!”
Finding Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill guilty of misdemeanor battery and two related violations of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, the Indiana Supreme Court has ordered him to serve a 30-day suspension.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Woody Myers has selected a former state lawmaker to be his lieutenant governor candidate.
The Indiana Department of Correction will make another attempt at keeping confidential the suppliers of the lethal drugs used in executions when it appears for oral arguments before the Indiana Supreme Court at 11 a.m. May 27. Oral arguments in this case and the others scheduled for May will be done through videoconferencing rather than held in-person.
Indiana voters can now submit online their requests for a mail-in ballot for the state’s June 2 primary election.
The federal litigation stemming from the sexual misconduct allegations against Attorney General Curtis Hill has been revived, this time with the plaintiffs suing the Indiana Legislature rather than the state. Hill’s accusers are also indicating that they plan to appeal the dismissal of several federal claims.
Though they don’t have all the answers, legal professionals are being looked to for guidance as clients navigate their new realities.