Indiana judge lets death penalty appeal go to high court
A northern Indiana judge has ruled that a man who faces the death penalty can appeal, claiming the state’s death penalty law is unconstitutional.
Lake County
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Lake County sheriff’s official pleads guilty to wire fraud
The second-in-command at the Lake County Sheriff’s Department pleaded guilty to wire fraud Friday in a bribery case in which the sheriff and a tow truck operator also are charged.
Defamation suit against community activist dismissed for failure to prove actual malice
A Lake County judge has dismissed a defamation suit brought against a northern Indiana radio personality and community activist by a police dispatcher, writing that the dispatcher failed to prove that the activist knowingly made false allegations of racial profiling.
Indiana judge gives father 40 years in 5-year-old’s death
An Indiana judge has sentenced a 35-year-old man to 40 years in prison for the death of his 5-year-old son who was found bound and beaten.
Federal lawsuit victor puts the ‘pro’ in pro se
An ex-teacher who won a $203,840 due process jury award in his lawsuit over his termination speaks out.
Lake County sheriff, Portage mayor charged in towing-bribe schemes
Lake County Sheriff and county Democratic Party Chairman John Buncich and Portage Mayor James Snyder have been indicted on public corruption and bribery charges handed down by a grand jury.
Woman’s family sues Indiana church, pastor after drowning
The family of an 18-year-old woman who drowned in a swimming pool at her pastor's home where she had been babysitting is suing the pastor and his northwest Indiana megachurch.
FBI, Indiana troopers raid offices of Lake County sheriff
The FBI and Indiana State Police raided the offices of Lake County Sheriff John Buncich and seized boxes of documents Thursday, though the target of their investigation remained unclear.
Divided COA tosses $2M DUI crash verdict over old convictions
The majority of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel held Thursday that a drunken driver’s decades-old convictions for alcohol-related offenses were irrelevant and prejudicial in a civil suit following a personal-injury crash. A dissenting judge, though, wrote the admissibility of such evidence should go to its weight rather than its age.
Lake Circuit Judge Paras resigning early
Lake Circuit Court Judge George Paras will leave the bench early after being unseated in May’s Democratic primary by Highland lawyer Marissa McDermott.
Former Lake Station mayor, wife sentenced in gambling scheme
The former mayor of Lake Station will serve four years in prison and pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines for using campaign money and city food pantry funds to gamble.
Former Lake Station mayor admits to wiretapping employees
New court records show that the former mayor of the northwest Indiana city of Lake Station admitted to recording and listening to phone calls of City Hall employees over several years starting in 2011.
Attorneys argue Indiana death penalty unconstitutional
Attorneys for a Lake County man who faces charges in the deaths of seven women have argued in court filings that the state of Indiana's death penalty law is unconstitutional.
$25M verdict poses tough questions for COA
Hearing arguments about a case that resulted in what may be among the largest awards for loss of consortium, the Indiana Court of Appeals repeatedly questioned what amount of damages is too much and when a jury’s decision should be overturned.
Plaintiffs lose state court challenge to anti-conflict of interest law
The five northern Indiana police officers or firefighters who challenged a state law that would prohibit them from simultaneously also serving in elected office had their suit challenging the 2013 law dismissed Tuesday.
COA hears arguments in $25M wrongful death verdict
In a wrongful death case argued before the Indiana Court of Appeals Tuesday, the panel considered the questions of when are damages too high and when should an appellate court set aside a jury’s verdict?
Quoting Dickens’ ‘Bleak House,’ judge decides 24-year-old lawsuit
A Lake County judge on Wednesday ordered summary judgment for defendants in a 24-year-old lawsuit he likened to the interminable Jarndyce and Jarndyce case in Charles Dickens’ novel “Bleak House.”
Official to plead guilty to tax assessment shakedown
A northwest Indiana assessor's office employee will plead guilty to allegedly shaking down businesses in exchange for reducing their tax assessments.
Indiana councilman seeks federal probe in man’s jail death
A Lake County councilman in is calling for a federal investigation into the death of a man at the county jail who had been arrested for speeding.
Former mayor’s stepdaughter gets home detention for theft
A federal judge has sentenced the stepdaughter of a former northwestern Indiana mayor to six months of home detention followed by two years on probation for embezzling funds from a city court.