Articles

COA revives ‘new intervenors’ challenge in South Bend police phone call recording litigation

Describing the litigation as taking a “convoluted procedural path” through state and federal courts, the Court of Appeals of Indiana remanded the yearslong dispute in South Bend over surreptitiously recorded phone conversations of certain police officers after finding the fundamental question of whether the state or federal wiretap laws were violated had never been answered.

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Appellate court adopts new-crime exception, partially reverses for motorist who wasn’t read Miranda rights

A motorist who denied hitting a police officer’s car but who offered the officer money to pay for the damages won a partial reversal after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found he was subject to custodial interrogation without being given Miranda warnings. But the COA did not allow the suppression of the alleged bribery based on the federal new-crime exception.

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Governors diverge on gun control, school security efforts

As the U.S. mourns the victims of its latest mass shooting — 19 elementary school students and two teachers gunned down in Texas — Democratic governors are amplifying their calls for greater restrictions on guns. Many Republican governors are emphasizing a different solution: more security at schools.

 

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Former Vincennes police chief arrested for stealing from department, wife arrested for theft of prescription drugs

Former Vincennes Police Department Chief Dustin Luking was arrested on multiple felony charges Wednesday for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from an evidence vault for personal use. Also today, Bethany J. Shelton Luking, Dustin’s wife, was arrested for allegedly stealing prescription medication from her employer, a senior center in Vincennes.

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Increasing threat of 3D printed firearms heightens concerns of violent crime

A new type of untraceable firearm printed using 3D technology is starting to gain national attention, coined with the colloquial name “ghost gun.” Federal authorities say they are increasingly recovering the homemade weapons, which are impossible to track without a serial number. As gun violence continues nationwide, law enforcement and policymakers are scrambling to get ahead of a trend they fear could exacerbate the problem.

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