With a total two-year appropriation of $6 million from the state, the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council is working with local prosecuting offices to establish 10 high-tech crime units that will be able to process and analyze digital evidence collected by law enforcement starting in 2022.
Read More
Indiana’s counties collectively earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from the federal government in child welfare-related public defense reimbursements — but could earn more if all 92 chose to take part.
The increasing cost of public defenders for misdemeanor cases is each county’s own problem. Indiana hasn’t reimbursed for those services in nearly three decades. That’s about to change.
A proposed bill that would establish a seven-county pilot program for misdemeanor reimbursement of public defender offices passed its first legislative test Wednesday.
A piece of proposed legislation introduced in this year’s short, nonbudget session is taking a different approach to misdemeanor reimbursement and includes a new pilot program for select counties.
Five municipal courts were abolished in 2023 and one was reestablished in 2024, according to a Thursday order from the Indiana Supreme Court.
After a nearly two-year pilot program, the Marion County Early Intervention Team and the Indiana Public Defender Commission say the initiative has shown promising early results.
At the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office, full workforce capacity would consist of a staff of 29 deputy prosecutors, a chief deputy prosecutor and Vicki Becker, the county’s prosecuting attorney. Becker said her office currently has 18 attorneys.
As staff shortages collide with overflowing caseloads, chief public defenders around the state are keeping a close eye on new funding proposed by Gov. Eric Holcomb that would reimburse public defender offices for handling misdemeanor cases.
Continuing a conversation that began in 2020, an Indiana Senate committee has endorsed a bill that would further clarify the restriction on depositions of alleged child sex abuse victims.
The Indiana Supreme Court has approved a proposed schedule of minimum fees for the state’s public defenders appointed in trial and appellate cases.
Three judges and a lawyer have been secured for continued years of service on various commissions and committees.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb recently appointed members of the Hoosier legal community to the state’s Public Defender Commission and a newly created Indiana Civic Education Commission.
Two Indianapolis attorneys have been reappointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb to sit on the Indiana Public Defender Commission.
About a decade out from the Great Recession — when law schools were criticized for oversaturating the job market— the situation, at least for the public sector in Indiana, appears to have gone in reverse.
The Indiana Public Defender Commission is proposing new standards that would significantly cut the caseloads and increase the pay for attorneys who represent adults and juveniles accused of criminal offenses.
The Indiana Public Defender Commission is calling for proposals of projects that will help improve the assistance offered to children and families involved in the child welfare system and prevent involvement altogether.
The Indianapolis Bar Association is saddened to note the passing of 1990 IndyBar President Don Buttrey. Buttrey passed away on April 24, 2021.
The Indiana Public Defender Commission last month released an analysis of caseloads in Indiana, showing disparities between actual and ideal workloads. That data has led public defense experts to one conclusion: there’s still work to be done to ensure indigent Hoosiers receive quality defense.
Caseload standards imposed by the Indiana Public Defender Commission are likely higher than the caseloads public defenders should carry, meaning current practices do not give public defenders sufficient time to provide effective representation.