Indiana officials outline response to state’s virus hotspots
Indiana health officials confirmed 28 more COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, and the state’s seven-day rolling average of new cases of the respiratory disease has doubled in three weeks.
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Senate Judiciary sets Oct. 22 vote on Barrett’s nomination
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday set an Oct. 22 vote on Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination as Republicans race to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick before the Nov. 3 election.
Holcomb extends Indiana mask mandate; health commissioner tests positive
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday said he would extend the state’s mask mandate for another month amid sharply rising COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. He made the announcement while revealing that Dr. Kristina Box, the state’s health commissioner, had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Barrett tells doubtful Democrats she’d keep open mind on court
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett presented herself Wednesday in her final round of Senate confirmation questioning as a judge with a traditional approach, holding deep personal and religious beliefs but committed to keeping an open mind on what would become a 6-3 conservative majority court.
7th Circuit upholds noon Election Day deadline for receipt of absentee ballots
Absentee ballots received by local election officials after noon on Election Day will not be counted, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, reversing a lower court that had issued an injunction in light of likely mail slowdowns caused by a surge in mail-in voting due to the pandemic.
SCOTUS won’t revive Trump emoluments case brought by Democrats
The United States Supreme Court declined Tuesday to revive a lawsuit filed by members of Congress against President Donald Trump alleging that he illegally profits off the presidency.
Called ‘unashamedly pro-life,’ Barrett faces senators anew
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett returned to Capitol Hill for a third day of confirmation hearings Wednesday, called “unashamedly pro-life” by her Republican Senate champion with Democrats running out of time to stop her quick confirmation.
Wisconsin absentee case may be headed to SCOTUS after 7th Circuit ruling
Democrats and their allies said Tuesday they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin that are received up to six days after the election can be counted — a move being fought by Republicans who have opposed other attempts across the country to expand voting.
Barrett vows no ‘agenda’ on high court
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is vowing to bring no “agenda” to the court, batting back senators’ questions Tuesday on abortion, gun rights and the November election, insisting she would take a conservative approach to the law but decide cases as they come.
Indiana race opens up after attorney general’s troubles
Indiana Democrats are targeting the state attorney general’s race as their best chance to break the stranglehold Republicans have over state government.
Barrett vows to interpret laws ‘as they are written’
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett declared Monday that Americans “deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution and laws as they are written,” encapsulating her conservative approach to the law that has Republicans excited about the prospect of her taking the place of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day.
7th Circuit fast-tracks appeal over noon Election Day deadline for receipt of absentee ballots
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has given parties just days to file briefs in an expedited appeal over a state law requiring election officials to receive absentee ballots by noon on Election Day. The court’s fast track positions it to rule on the matter just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 election, while it issued a sharply divided opinion Thursday upholding a somewhat similar law in a Wisconsin case.
Politics has way of finding Supreme Court eager to avoid it
The Supreme Court might prefer to avoid politics, but politics has a way of finding the court.
VP debate takeaways: Pandemic looms over a more civil fight
Vice President Mike Pence faced considerable pressure at Wednesday’s debate to boost coronavirus-stricken President Donald Trump’s flagging reelection hopes, while California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris balanced her role as Joe Biden’s validator with her own historic presence as the first Black woman on a major party national ticket.
Indiana attorney general candidates split over virus powers
Indiana’s attorney general candidates are divided over how the Republican governor has used the state’s emergency powers law to impose a mask mandate and other coronavirus-related executive orders that have stirred discord among conservative voters.
Democrats ask if more material omitted from Barrett response
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are calling on the Justice Department to provide any missing materials from a questionnaire completed by Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Confirmation hearings for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judge and Notre Dame law professor remain scheduled to begin next week.
7th Circuit affirms restrictions on absentee voting; judge stays injunction in noon deadline case
The effort to allow all Hoosiers to vote by absentee ballot in the November presidential election has been blocked by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals which, in an echo of the state’s argument, found Election Day is too close to make any changes now. In a separate case, a judge temporarily stayed pending appeal an order blocking an Indiana law that requires absentee ballots be received by noon to be counted.
AG candidate profile: Weinzapfel says attorney general should be about policy, not politics
Democratic former Evansville Mayor and lawmaker Jonathan Weinzapfel said if elected attorney general, his actions would be based on policy, not politics, and Hoosiers’ best interests. Read Weinzapfel’s recent Q&A with Indiana Lawyer’s sibling publication, the Indianapolis Business Journal.
AG candidate profile: Rokita says he’ll be an ‘aggressive’ attorney general
Republican former Congressman and Secretary of State Todd Rokita vows to continue a conservative approach but would emphasize partnerships if elected attorney general. Read what Rokita had to say in a recent Q&A with Indiana Lawyer’s sibling publication, the Indianapolis Business Journal.
2 justices slam court’s 2015 decision in gay marriage case
The United States Supreme Court, already poised to take a significant turn to the right, opened its new term Monday with a jolt from two conservative justices who raised new criticism of the court’s embrace of same-sex marriage.