Articles

Divided justices uphold guilty but mentally ill verdict in Southport pastor’s murder

A bench verdict of guilty but mentally ill against a woman twice convicted — and twice cleared by reason of insanity – in the 2012 shooting of a Southport pastor will stand after a majority of the Indiana Supreme Court found sufficient demeanor evidence to reject the woman’s insanity defense. But the two-justice dissent pointed to testimony from three experts to support their opinion that Lori Barcroft was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct at the time of Jaman Iseminger’s murder.

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COA affirms possession of tossed firearm by felon

A man convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon after he allegedly tossed a pistol from his car during a police stop failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that the evidence against him was insufficient.

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Judge’s failure to sign commitment order splits COA

For the second time in little more than one month, the Indiana Court of Appeals has addressed the issue of the Marion Superior Court ordering civil commitments by the judge summarily approving commitment orders signed by commissioners or magistrates without signing the orders. But unlike a prior ruling, the COA on Wednesday found that issue waived, though a dissenting judge argued litigants cannot waive the issue of a judge’s failure to perform a statutory duty.

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Supreme Court certifies 42 senior judges for 2019

The Indiana Supreme Court has certified or re-certified 42 judicial officers as senior judges for the coming year. The high court re-certified 33 senior judges and gave eight trial court judges and one magistrate received initial certification.

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Justice center move will bring changes to 2 neighborhoods

The $572 million Criminal Justice Center won’t open until 2022, at which time scores of city and county employees—working for the courts, public defender, prosecutor, sheriff and other agencies—will move from downtown’s Market East Cultural District 2 ½ miles east to the Twin Aire neighborhood. But city officials and businesses are already thinking about how both neighborhoods will be changed by the shift.

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Holcomb’s office ordered to hand over Pence Carrier emails

Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration has 30 days to turnover emails that passed between former Gov. Mike Pence, the Trump Organization and Carrier Corp. related to the negotiations that led then newly elected President Donald Trump to take credit for saving the Indianapolis plant from closing.

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Three magistrate finalists named for Lake County judgeship

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb will select one of three magistrate judges to fill the vacancy on the Lake Superior Court created when Judge Elizabeth Tavitas was appointed to the Indiana Court of Appeals this summer. The Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission late Tuesday named magistrate judges Lisa A. Berdine, Thomas P. Hallett and Nanette K. Raduenz as finalists to succeed Tavitas in Lake Superior Court 3, family division.

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Jury finds for Marion County sheriff at ex-deputy’s ADA trial

A former Marion County sheriff’s deputy who was permanently injured while on duty has lost her lawsuit against the sheriff’s department and the city of Indianapolis after a federal jury found the defendants did not fail to accommodate her and did not harass her because of her disability.

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