Southern District Judge William Lawrence took senior status in July, capping a distinguished career that began when he switched from swinging for the fences on the diamond, culminating with him calling balls and strikes from the bench.
The Indiana Supreme Court has certified or re-certified 42 judicial officers as senior judges for the coming year. The high court re-certified 33 senior judges and gave eight trial court judges and one magistrate received initial certification.
The Allen Superior Court Criminal Division is accepting applications for a magistrate judge position that will open when Senior Magistrate David M. Zent becomes an Allen Superior Judge. Applications will be accepted to fill Zent’s seat in the Allen Superior Court Misdemeanor and Traffic Division through Nov. 30, with the position expected to be filled in December.
The St. Joseph Probate Court judge was unseated in Tuesday’s election, reversing earlier results showing Republican Judge James Fox had retained his office. Official final vote totals now show Democratic challenger Jason Cichowicz narrowly defeated Fox in the state’s closest judicial race.
The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court said the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight after a Wednesday evening fall.
The Supreme Court has ended the court fight over repealed Obama-era “net neutrality” rules that required internet providers to treat all online traffic equally. The court on Monday rejected appeals from the telecommunications industry seeking to throw out a lower court ruling in favor of the “net neutrality” rules.
The Indiana Southern District Court’s newest member, Judge James R. Sweeney, will be ceremonially sworn into office next month. Sweeney’s investiture ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16, at the Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Although they concede that more needs to be done, two Indiana law professors are applauding the recommendations on how to handle sexual harassment complaints made against the federal judiciary. Professors Charles Geyh and Jennifer Drobac, offered their comments as part of the public hearing to consider the proposed changes to the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges and the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings.
The 2018 Indiana bar swearing-in ceremony had a definite family feel as leaders in the Indiana legal profession prompted the new attorneys to remember to be polite, to listen and to always help others whenever they can.
A Marion County jury’s award of more than $21 million to a passenger rendered paraplegic when an intoxicated friend crashed his truck after a night of drinking was upheld Friday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, announced Tuesday in a frank and personal letter that she has been diagnosed with “the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer's disease.”
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.