Articles

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Family, colleagues celebrate Hanlon at public investiture

Tilting the microphone down from the podium, the youngest daughter of new Southern District Judge James Patrick Hanlon drew smiles from his investiture crowd as she characterized her father as a hardworking man who always makes time for his kids.

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Convicted ex-ASC chief Burkhart loses bid to stay civil lawsuit

The former CEO of a nursing home company now serving prison time for his major role in a corporate fraud scheme has lost his bid to stay additional civil proceedings against him while he fights to have his convictions tossed on the basis of an alleged “profound conflict of interest” on the part of Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg.

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Indiana appeals 18-hour ultrasound injunction to U.S. Supreme Court

Indiana is again appealing to the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn a preliminary injunction blocking a state abortion law, this one requiring women to get an ultrasound at least 18 hours before the procedure. The provision was included in House Enrolled Act 1337, which was signed into law by then-Gov. Mike Pence in 2016.

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State’s request for stay rebuffed in voter registration case

An attempt by the state of Indiana to squash discovery into its practice of maintaining voter rolls has been stopped by the Southern Indiana District Court, which pointed out to both parties that it has “extremely broad discretion in controlling discovery.” Judge Tanya Walton Pratt issued the order Friday in Common Cause Indiana v. Connie Lawson, et al., denying the state’s request to stay proceedings and discovery while the case is on interlocutory appeal.

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IndyCar awarded $3.9M for scrubbed Boston races

A race organizer’s failure to bring promised IndyCar Boston Grand Prix Labor Day weekend races to the finish line has resulted in an award of nearly $4 million in damages to the Indianapolis-based open-wheel racing series, but it’s unclear how much IndyCar may be able to recoup from bankrupt promoters.

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Judge lets Marion County inmate suicide suit proceed

A lawsuit claiming the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and one of its deputies violated an inmate’s constitutional rights by leaving him unattended long enough for the inmate to kill himself will continue after a district court judge declined to fully grant summary judgment to the county.

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Attorney awarded $150K for infringement of Indy photo

An Indiana attorney and hobbyist photographer who has sued dozens of people for the unauthorized use of a copyrighted image has been awarded more than $150,000 for the willful infringement of his photo of the Indianapolis skyline.

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Man convicted of bogus liens on judges loses appeal

A man who used the sovereign citizen tactic of filing phony liens against multiple Indiana federal judges lost his appeal Monday. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Brent A. Swallers' conviction of filing a false lien and encumbrance against a federal judge

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Excessive force claim to proceed against IMPD SWAT officer

A Fourth Amendment excessive force claim against an Indianapolis police officer will continue after a federal judge denied the officer’s motion for summary judgment on Tuesday. The SWAT officer is accused of assaulting a suspected drug dealer in his home after executing a no-knock warrant.

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Nursing home fraud scheme’s ‘CFO’ gets 5 years in prison; lesser player gets 4 months

A federal judge on Monday sentenced Steven Ganote, a key player in the massive American Senior Communities overbilling and and kickback scheme, to five years in prison and ordered him to pay $7 million in restitution. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt also doled out punishment to Joshua Burkhart, sentencing him to four months in prison and ordering him to pay $420,000 in restitution for his role in the scheme.

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Former nursing home executive handed 57-month prison sentence

Daniel Benson, the former chief operating officer of American Senior Communities, was sentenced Friday to nearly five years in federal prison for his role in a massive kickback scheme at Indiana’s largest chain of nursing homes. Indiana Southern District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced Benson to a 57-month sentence as part of a plea agreement.

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Court sees ‘high likelihood’ that Indiana’s voting law violates federal act

Three public advocacy groups have temporarily stopped the enforcement of Indiana’s 2017 voter registration law, which could potentially purge eligible voters from the rolls without providing them written notice. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from implementing the 2017 version of Senate Enrolled Act 442.

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Adviser who defrauded former Colt of $4.7M gets seven years in prison

A former financial adviser who admitted to defrauding former Indianapolis Colts defensive end Cory Redding out of $4.7 million was sentenced Friday to seven years in federal prison. Kenneth Ray Cleveland received the punishment after pleading guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges. 

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