Federal court dismisses suit against judge
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit against an Allen Circuit judge because the judge was entitled to judicial immunity in a suit filed by a pro se plaintiff disgruntled about a small claims ruling.
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Russian lawyers in Indy to learn legal system
Five Russian lawyers currently are visiting Indianapolis to learn about United States' legal issues and legal system.
State senator dies at home
State Sen. David C. Ford, R – Hartford City, died this morning in his home from complications related to pancreatic cancer. He was 59 years old. The four-term lawmaker was receiving hospice care and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer in January. He kept abreast of this session via telephone and computer. In 2007, Ford served as assistant majority floor leader and chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Technology. He also was a member of the Judiciary, Tax…
COA: Dealership not denied due process
he Indiana Court of Appeals directly addressed for the first time today the due process implications of an administrative law judge conducting a hearing without the participation of a party who received notice but couldn't be contacted by telephone at the time of the hearing. The appellate court found a car dealership's due process hadn't been violated when it failed to participate in a telephone hearing with the administrative law judge and a former employee.
Decomposition cleanup subject to lien law
A decomposing body left in a Johnson County home has led the Indiana Court of Appeals to analyze the state mechanic's lien statute.
Head Start considered a school
Teachers who work for a federally funded program to help children prepare for kindergarten are not eligible under Indiana statute for unemployment during summer breaks, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today. In South Bend Community School Corporation v. Linda D. Lucas, No. 93A02-0705-EX-387, the majority of judges agreed with South Bend that Head Start institutions should be considered schools under Indiana statute and therefore, its teachers are not allowed to collect unemployment during the summer. Lucas works as a teacher at…
Appeal dropped against Valpo clinic’s client
The first athlete to win an arbitration against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a client of the Valparaiso University School of Law’s Sports Law Clinic, has received another win. The World Anti-Doping Agency has dropped its appeal of last year’s decision in favor of a record-breaking sprinter, the university announced April 22.The ruling in United States Anti-Doping Agency v. LaTasha Jenkins in Jenkin’s favor was initially announced Dec. 12, 2007, and the 44-page decision was released Jan. 25, 2008, clearing her of charges…
Judges disagree on registration by homeless
Indiana Court of Appeals judges disagreed today in an opinion in which the majority ruled that a man who claimed he was temporarily homeless should be charged with violating the Indiana statute that requires registered sex offenders to provide their new address to authorities within seven days of a move. One judge dissented, saying their ruling would make homelessness a crime.Judges L. Mark Bailey and Ezra Friedlander affirmed Daniel J. Milliner’s conviction for failing to register as a sex offender and…
EBA executive director retires
Susan Helfrich, executive director of the Evansville Bar Association and Evansville Bar Foundation, retires today after nearly 25 years of service to the organizations.
Lawyer suspended for conversion, lying
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended a Vanderburgh County attorney today for at least three years for committing what the court describes as the most serious of ethical breaches.The court came to its decision In the matter of: Douglas W. Patterson, No. 82S00-0402-DI-90, as a result of Douglas Patterson’s conversion of client funds, deceit in concealing his misconduct, and dishonesty with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.Patterson was an associate at a law firm which maintained a trust account. In 1999, Patterson and…
COA mulls ‘fraud’ in paternity affidavit statute
A man’s paternity cannot be revoked three years after he and the child’s mother fraudulently signed an affidavit establishing that he’s the legal father, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.The court’s unanimous ruling paves the way for a possible Indiana Supreme Court interpretation of this particular state statute, which this appellate panel believes was designed to protect a man’s paternal rights in the event he was defrauded – not when he was the one doing the deception along with the…
Court reverses joint tenancy interest ruling
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a finding that a mother and her daughter and son-in-law each held a one-half joint tenancy in a property, finding the parties actually held one-third undivided interest as joint tenants.
Program focuses on schizophrenia, treatments
The director who oversees daily operations of services to mentally ill detainees in a Chicago jail will be the featured speaker of the program, “Choices in Recovery: Schizophrenia.” Dr. Carl Alaimo, director and chief psychologist of the Department of Mental Health Services for Cermak Health Services of Cook County, Ill., will speak during a program May 8 in Greenwood. He has more than 30 years experience in the fields of mental health, chemical dependency, substance abuse treatment, and training in correctional…
Arguments set in Lake County early-voting case
The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the Lake County early-voter registration appeal at 1:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 30 in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom, Statehouse Room 317, Indianapolis.
Justices: Act doesn’t allow interest
Interest may not be calculated on workers’ compensation benefits, including past-due medical bills, because Indiana legislation doesn’t expressly allow for it, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled today. In Christopher R. Brown, D.D.S., Inc. v. Decatur County Memorial Hospital, No. 93S02-0711-EX-561, Dr. Christopher Brown appealed the decision by the full Workers’ Compensation Board that he was not entitled to interest on past-due medical bills incurred from his treatment of a patient who was receiving workers’ compensation benefits from Decatur County Memorial Hospital. Indiana’s…
Social Security doesn’t go toward threshold
Social Security benefits can’t be counted toward the threshold amount of benefits that a person has to get in order to be eligible for benefits from Indiana’s Second Injury Fund, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.The court tackled the issue of first impression in James Kohlmeyer v. Second Injury Fund, No. 93A02-0711-EX-1000, in which James Kohlmeyer argued Social Security benefits he received after becoming permanently totally disabled as a result of a work accident should count toward the threshold dictated under…
Connected attorney reflects on patent film
After seeing the film "Flash of Genius," about a man who sued the auto industry over what he claimed was his design for intermittent windshield wipers, an Indianapolis attorney who represented Mercedes (Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft) against the real life Bob Kearns has his own take on the film.
Federal judge won’t overturn jury verdict
Ruling on his first jury trial as a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen declined to overturn a jury verdict in favor of a fired East Chicago worker who’d claimed she lost her job for political reasons.In an eight-page ruling on Aug. 1 in Blanca I. Camacho v. George Pabey, et al., No. 2:05-cv-456, Judge Van Bokkelen ruled that a reasonable jury had evidence to find in favor of Camacho and award her $250,000.Camacho was a restaurant inspector when…
ICADV’s annual conference, auction Oct. 21-22
Two nationally known activists will speak at the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence's 26th annual fall conference Oct. 21-22 in Indianapolis.
Aspiring attorneys general face off: Other campaigns get the spotlight, but this one deserves a closer look
With at least two very closely watched races in Indiana – governor and president – and multiple political theories about how either race will go, there’s bound to be less attention paid to some of the other candidates. But with Republican Gregory Zoeller and Democrat Linda Pence up for the attorney general post and the incumbent Steve Carter not running, this race is worth another look. At stake is the oversight of the state attorney general’s office, basically a very large…