Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has stepped back from public life. The 88-year-old, for more than two decades often the deciding vote in important cases, is now fully retired and no longer makes public appearances.
Several hours of testimony before a legislative study committee charged with examining a potential hate crimes law for Indiana heavily underscored one central point: there are many opinions and no common ground.
The moment conservatives have dreamed about for decades has arrived with Brett Kavanaugh joining the Supreme Court. But with it comes the shadow of a bitter confirmation fight that is likely to hang over the court as it takes on divisive issues, especially those dealing with politics and women’s rights.
A deeply divided Senate pushed Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination past a key procedural hurdle Friday, setting up a likely final showdown this weekend in a battle that’s seen claims of long-ago sexual assault by the nominee threaten President Donald Trump’s effort to tip the court rightward for decades. The Senate voted 51-49 to limit debate, effectively defeating Democratic efforts to scuttle the nomination with endless delays.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh acknowledged Thursday he “might have been too emotional” when testifying about sexual misconduct allegations as he made a final bid to win over wavering GOP senators on the eve of a crucial vote to advance his confirmation. Three GOP senators and one Democrat remain undecided about elevating Kavanaugh to the high court.
Law professors from all four of Indiana’s law schools have signed letters asking the United States Senate to oppose the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. One letter argues Kavanaugh lacks the temperament to be seated on the nation’s highest court, while the other asserts he was not fully vetted and that his judgments would erode civil and individual rights.
There are many adjectives friends and colleagues used to describe Elizabeth Tavitas, the newest Indiana Court of Appeals judge, when they gathered to celebrate her ceremonial robing on Monday. But as each speaker described their unique experiences with Tavitas, there was a common theme running through each set of remarks: service.
As he reflects on his career before his Oct. 15 retirement, Monroe Circuit Judge Kenneth Todd says his interactions with litigants and courtroom colleagues has been the best part of his 40-year stint on the bench. “I intended to do it for one term, but I found that it was a good fit for me,” he said of his judicial career.
The White House has given the FBI clearance to interview anyone it wants to by Friday in its investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The new guidance was issued to the FBI over the weekend in response to Democratic and news media pushback that the scope of the probe was too narrow.
The federal trial of a suspended West Virginia Supreme Court justice is starting a day after a colleague’s impeachment trial began in the state Senate. Jury selection is set to get under way Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Charleston for Justice Allen Loughry, while an impeachment trial against Justice Beth Walker begins its second day on Tuesday.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin its new term with the crack of the marshal’s gavel and not a camera in sight. The term’s start has been completely overshadowed by the tumult over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the high court.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly from Indiana says Brett Kavanaugh won’t get his vote for confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. Donnelly said Friday that sexual assault allegations against President Donald Trump’s nominee are “disturbing and credible.”
After a flurry of last-minute negotiations, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court after agreeing to a late call from Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona for a one-week investigation into sexual assault allegations against the high court nominee.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faced a crucial vote Friday as a Senate panel decides whether to move his nomination on to the full Senate a day after he adamantly denied sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford, who insisted she’s “100 percent” certain he did.
Asked for the most vivid memory from the night three decades ago she claims Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her, Christine Blasey Ford did not name a physical violation, but instead the sound of laughter coming from Kavanaugh and friend Mark Judge.
Emotionally battling to rescue his Supreme Court nomination, Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday denied allegations that he’d sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when both were high school students and told Congress the accusations and biting criticism by Democrats had “totally and permanently destroyed” his family and reputation.
Newest Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth F. Tavitas will be ceremonially sworn into office next week when the court hosts a public robing ceremony.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb will select one of three magistrate judges to fill the vacancy on the Lake Superior Court created when Judge Elizabeth Tavitas was appointed to the Indiana Court of Appeals this summer. The Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission late Tuesday named magistrate judges Lisa A. Berdine, Thomas P. Hallett and Nanette K. Raduenz as finalists to succeed Tavitas in Lake Superior Court 3, family division.
Judge Robert Wilkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will be returning to his home state of Indiana to deliver the 7th Annual Birch Bayh Lecture at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
A troubled Elkhart County juvenile who was adjudicated delinquent after firing a handgun failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he was wrongly committed to the Department of Correction.