Judge counts his blessings while slowly going blind
George Pancol, judge of Madison Circuit Court 2, is going blind. The doctors can't agree why.
Madison County
Articles
Plea deal reached in central Indiana animal cruelty case
A central Indiana couple charged with animal cruelty after 171 dead animals were found on their farm have pleaded guilty to four counts each of improper disposal of a dead animal.
Judicial officers in demand
Seven counties are asking the Legislature for 11 magistrates to handle increasing caseloads.
Judiciary interim study committee to vote on magistrates
The Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary is expected to vote Thursday on endorsing magistrate judge requests from seven Indiana counties.
Judiciary study committee to consider new judges, consent to adoption
The Indiana General Assembly’s Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary meets Thursday for the first time this year and will look at the addition of judges in several counties.
National juvenile justice program growing in Indiana
Four more counties are being added to Indiana’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative in June, the first step to a significant expansion of the program within Indiana.
Sentences imposed on Anderson juveniles in double homicide reduced
Two Anderson youths convicted for their roles in the shooting deaths of a couple they robbed of money and marijuana may someday be freed from prison after the Indiana Supreme Court significantly reduced their sentences Monday.
Tax Court affirms rejection of fire protection district
A faulty legal notice published to advertise a public hearing for the purpose of creating a fire protection district in northern Madison County was sufficient grounds for the state to deny creation of the district, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Friday.
Statute requires state to pay attorney fees on inmate’s appeal
Indiana Code 33-37-2-4 requires the state to pay appellate attorney fees and expenses when an inmate commits a crime in a state correctional facility, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
Small-claims hearsay letter properly admitted
A dentist’s letter that said a man suing him had never complained about the service he received was not improperly admitted in a small-claims collections action, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Special prosecutor sought in Clark County Drug Court matter
Problems in a southern Indiana drug court – including the jailing of multiple people for months without due process – have led to a formal request for a special prosecutor.
Erroneous instruction on accomplice liability not enough to get conviction overturned
The Indiana Court of Appeals has split on whether erroneous jury instruction was a harmless error or gave the jurors another base for finding a defendant guilty of attempted murder.
8-year sentence upheld for teen who killed friend while street racing
A Madison County man who crashed his car while street racing, which killed one passenger and injured two others, could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that the trial court erred in declining to give a lesser-included instruction of reckless driving at his trial for reckless homicide.
Unemployment checks no longer part of summer break, COA rules
Finding that an addition to the state’s statute did not change the intent of the law, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that school bus drivers in Anderson were rightly denied their unemployment checks.
Man extradited from Wyoming on many charges not denied speedy trial
A man who twice escaped incarceration in Indiana and was extradited to face a multitude of charges after he was convicted in Wyoming failed to convince appellate judges he had been denied a speedy trial.
Justices: Order giving grandmother visitation rights is void
Because a grandmother did not have standing under the terms of Indiana’s Grandparent Visitation Statute to pursue visitation, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s finding that an original order granting visitation is void. The woman wanted to see her two grandchildren whose mother was murdered by the grandmother’s son.
Former Marion County deputy prosecutor agrees to plead guilty to bribery
The top deputy under former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge for his role in the early release of a woman convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme.
Separate notice argument not enough to vacate small claims judgment
A business’s argument that it should have been served with a separate notice of a small claims action was rejected by the Indiana Court of Appeals Friday.
Justices: Use preponderance of evidence standard to find probation violation
Kimberly Heaton will have a new hearing on whether she violated the terms of her probation when she was charged with Class D felony theft. The Indiana Supreme Court vacated her probation revocation because a Madison Superior judge may have used the wrong legal standard to find the violation.