Michigan City police chief, deputies resign in dispute with mayor
The top brass of Michigan City’s police force resigned in the wake of a dispute with city’s mayor.
Law & Politics
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Hill’s rivals for AG active during his discipline hearing
As Attorney General Curtis Hill took the stand in his disciplinary case filed over groping allegations, a lawyer and a lawmaker who hope to replace him appear to be using his infamy as something of a springboard for their own campaigns.
Faegre team’s gerrymandering win vacated by U.S. Supreme Court
The fight over Michigan’s redistricting, litigated in part by a team from the Indianapolis office of Faegre Baker Daniels, ended Monday with an order from the U.S. Supreme Court vacating a lower court’s ruling that gerrymandering based on political affiliation violates the Constitution.
AG Hill’s top advisers compelled to produce evidence in discipline case
Two of Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s top advisers must produce documents concerning their communications with him regarding the groping and sexual misconduct accusations that led to his attorney discipline hearings, scheduled to begin next week.
Halt of simple pot prosecutions gets mixed reaction
Reactions have been mixed to the recent announcement that the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will no longer prosecute cases of simple possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced the new policy Sept. 30.
Indiana voters weary of more investigations as impeachment ramps up
Polling finds that support for the inquiry has grown since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the start of the investigation last month following a whistleblower complaint. But what those numbers don’t show is the sense of fatigue among some Americans — a factor that could be significant as Democrats leading the inquiry debate how to proceed with an election year approaching.
US appeals court skeptical of Trump’s Medicaid work rules
A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday sharply questioned the Trump administration’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients, casting doubt on a key part of a government-wide effort to place conditions on low-income people seeking taxpayer-financed assistance.
Florida men tied to Giuliani arrested on campaign charges
Two businessmen tied to efforts by President Donald Trump’s lawyer to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son were charged Thursday with campaign finance violations in the U.S. The charges relate to a $325,000 donation to a political action committee supporting Trump’s re-election.
Title VII questions at U.S. Supreme Court echo Indiana case
The issue that arose in Indiana from the employment discrimination case against Ivy Tech will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday as the nine justices will be asked whether Title VII protections extend to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Mears promises to be independent, tough on violent crime as Marion County prosecutor
Ryan Mears has been named the new Marion County prosecutor, replacing former Prosecutor Terry Curry.
Judge hearing suit over Indiana’s religious objections law
Conservative religious groups are arguing their constitutional rights were violated by limits that were placed on Indiana’s contentious religious objections law signed in 2015 by then-Gov. Mike Pence.
House Democrats subpoena Giuliani in Trump impeachment probe
Democrats on Monday subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer who was at the heart of Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s family.
Indy mayoral candidates want state law to better protect tenants
The major party candidates for Indianapolis mayor say they want to see changes in the state’s eviction laws that could help prevent some people from becoming homeless.
Mears announces candidacy for Marion County prosecutor
Ryan Mears, who was tapped to serve as interim Marion County prosecutor earlier this week, announced his candidacy for the office Wednesday.
Pelosi announces official impeachment inquiry
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced the United States House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
Trump ordered aid frozen; more Democrats want impeachment
President Donald Trump ordered his staff to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine a few days before a phone call in which he pressured the eastern European nation’s leader to investigate the family of political rival Joe Biden, a revelation that comes as more Democrats move toward impeachment proceedings.
Federal court blocks Indiana law banning smokable hemp
Indiana’s law criminalizing smokable hemp has been snuffed out, at least temporarily, by a federal court, which found the proponents of hemp made convincing arguments that the federal farm bill of 2018, expanding the definition of hemp and removing the plant from the federal schedule of controlled substances, pre-empted the state statute.
House committee approves guidelines for impeachment hearings
U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler says there’s no confusion about what his committee is doing: It’s an impeachment investigation, no matter how you want to phrase it.
Attorney General Hill stalls BMV gender change rule
Indiana’s attorney general is stalling a measure that would allow people to change their gender on driver’s licenses and IDs, according to the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Despite state’s ‘negligence or malice,’ court denies ballot-access injunction
An Indianapolis resident who wanted to add his name to the November mayoral ballot cannot do so now that a federal judge has upheld a finding by the Marion County Election Board that the would-be candidate failed to acquire enough legitimate voter signatures. However, the court also raised concerns about language on a candidate form that could make it “more difficult for voters to support independent candidates,” yet found the language was not enough of a burden to overrule the board’s decision.