Cass County prosecutor elected to lead IPAC board
A new chair has been chosen to lead the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council’s Board of Directors following an election that took place last week.
Law & Politics
Articles
AG candidate calls for ‘principled, conservative’ leadership
The first candidate to announce for the Republican nomination for Indiana attorney general in the 2020 race is touting his private sector experience and is calling for “principled, conservative leadership” in the Office of the Attorney General.
Supreme Court 5-4 ruling blocks census citizenship question
The Supreme Court of the United States is forbidding President Donald Trump’s administration from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census for now. The court said the Trump administration’s explanation for wanting to add the question was “more of a distraction” than an explanation.
5-4 Supreme Court won’t block districts drawn for partisan gain
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled federal courts have no role to play in policing political districts drawn for partisan gain. The decision could embolden political line-drawing for partisan gain when state lawmakers undertake the next round of redistricting after the 2020 census.
Bose attorney to challenge Hill for Republican AG nomination
An Indianapolis attorney with Bose McKinney & Evans LLP will challenge Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill for the Republican nomination to become Indiana’s top lawyer. Formal announcements at four stops around the state are scheduled for Thursday.
New laws for 2019
The following enrolled acts, followed in parentheses by their corresponding public law numbers, take effect July 1 unless otherwise noted below.
Census, redistricting top remaining Supreme Court cases
The Supreme Court enters its final week of decisions with two politically charged issues unresolved: whether to rein in political line-drawing for partisan gain and allow a citizenship question on the 2020 census.
Zipping into statutes: Overview of new laws for 2019
Although the $34 billion budget dominated the session, legislators introduced and considered more than 600 bills each in both the Senate and the House. The ones they passed covered a variety of matters, including hate crimes, hemp, gambling, foster parents, electricity generation and, of course, electric scooters.
Introduced, debated but not passed in the General Assembly
Not every bill introduced gains the traction needed to get to the governor’s desk. Many times, a proposed new law fails to get a committee hearing, or it stalls once it reaches the floor. Other times, as a measure progresses through the Statehouse, it ignites disagreements that are ultimately too much to overcome.
Indiana official sued for records on US election hacking vulnerability
A voting security advocacy group is trying to force the former president of a group of state election officials to release documents on whether she wrongly asserted that electronic election systems are safe from hacking.
Senior judges may endorse political candidates, JQC says
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications determined that senior judges may endorse candidates for public office, but retiring judges may not. The commission issued its advisory opinion in response to questions posed about endorsements of candidates for public office by retiring and senior judges.
After shooting, Buttigieg says South Bend police must activate cameras
Back home from the Democratic presidential campaign trail, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is telling officers after a fatal police shooting that they must activate their body cameras during any interaction with civilians.
Supreme Court upholds rule allowing state, federal charges
The Supreme Court is upholding a constitutional rule that allows state and federal governments to prosecute someone for the same crime. The court’s 7-2 decision Monday preserves a long-standing rule that provides an exception to the Constitution’s ban on trying someone twice for the same offense.
High court avoids new case over same-sex wedding cake
The Supreme Court is throwing out an Oregon court ruling against bakers who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The justices’ action Monday keeps the high-profile case off the court’s election-year calendar and orders state judges to take a new look at the dispute between the lesbian couple and the owners of a now-closed bakery in the Portland area.
Justice backs Mnuchin’s refusal to turn over Trump’s taxes
The Justice Department issued a legal opinion Friday finding Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was right to withhold President Donald Trump’s tax returns from a House committee that subpoenaed them.
Susan Brooks to step down from Congress after fourth term
Indiana Rep. Susan Brooks, a Republican who has represented Indiana’s 5th District since 2013, announced Friday morning that she will not run for a fifth term in Congress.
Judge: DOC must pay $538K in ‘egregious’ death penalty records case
The Indiana Department of Correction’s refusal to disclose to the public information concerning the means it would use to execute a condemned criminal will cost taxpayers more than a half-million dollars in attorney fees, a judge has ruled.
Judge blocks Fort Wayne ‘pay to play’ ordinance
An Allen County judge has enjoined Fort Wayne from enforcing an ordinance designed to curb “pay-to-play” arrangements that allegedly led to city contracts for businesses that contribute to local candidates’ campaigns.
House resolution would make it easier to enforce subpoenas
A resolution being voted on Tuesday in the House would make it easier for Democrats to sue President Donald Trump’s administration and other potential witnesses who refuse to comply with subpoenas. The House resolution would authorize lawsuits against Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn for defying subpoenas pertaining to special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Lawmaker: Recording at famed Indiana farm politically driven
Video exposing alleged animal abuse at a famous northwestern Indiana dairy farm is politically motivated, said an Indiana lawmaker who drafted legislation in 2013 that would have barred undercover video filming at the state’s agricultural operations.