Public Health - The Indiana Lawyer

IndyBar: Frazzle, Dazzle, Rinse, Repeat

September 30, 2020 | From IndyBar

Let’s dispense with the pleasantries and get real. We are not OK. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, suffering through a highly contested presidential election, gearing up for another Supreme Court battle, the Pacific Northwest is on fire, the Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast have been hit with so many hurricanes that they are using the Greek alphabet, we have all been forced to conserve toilet paper at some point in the last six months, and the cherry on top — many of us are educating our kids from home while working full-time jobs. What in the literal 2020 is happening? I honestly have no idea, but I have devised a three-part survival guide to get us through this.

DTCI: Working while sick? It’s different in the COVID-19 era

September 30, 2020 | From DTCI

In the age of COVID-19, having a system that incentivizes employees to work while sick is not tenable. Most of the symptoms of COVID-19 overlap with the symptoms of illnesses such as strep throat, bronchitis, sinus infection and other viruses that are so common when the weather turns cold. As we well know, if an employee’s illness turns out to be COVID-19, working while sick could be a medical calamity or worse for a vulnerable coworker.

Online version of LSAT gaining clout with law schools

September 29, 2020 | IL Staff

Like many things that scrambled to the virtual world as the coronavirus chased everyone inside their own homes, the online version of the LSAT is turning out to be a popular replacement to the traditional in-person law school entrance exam.

Indiana health officials urge use of masks as some restrictions eased

September 28, 2020 | Associated Press

Indiana health leaders say the wearing of face masks will be as important as ever to stem the coronavirus spread, even as most of the statewide restrictions imposed by the governor were lifted as of Saturday.

Justices’ order lifts restrictions on distance CLE credits

September 25, 2020 | IL Staff

The Indiana Supreme Court has announced that any virtual continuing legal education courses taken during this time will not count toward the credit-hour limitations on distance education.

Supreme Court permits cameras in court year-round for adoption celebrations

September 25, 2020 | IL Staff

Indiana families celebrating the adoption of a new child into their families will now be able to capture the moments of that union in court via camera, no matter what time of year it is.

Marion County easing some, not all, pandemic restrictions

September 25, 2020 | Indianapolis Business Journal Staff

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said Friday that he would ease some pandemic restrictions on businesses in Indianapolis, but not as much as the rest of the state. Relaxed restrictions for Marion County will take effect Monday.

Holcomb moving Indiana to Stage 5 of recovery plan, but extends mask mandate

September 23, 2020 | Indianapolis Business Journal Staff and Associated Press

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday said he was moving Indiana to Stage 5 of the Back on Track recovery plan starting Saturday, but was extending the state’s pandemic mask order through at least Oct. 17.

Bar owners sue Indianapolis over ‘arbitrary and unreasonable’ pandemic rules

September 23, 2020 | Samm Quinn, Indianapolis Business Journal

The owners of 20 Marion County bars and nightclubs are suing Indianapolis, Mayor Joe Hogsett, and the Marion County Public Health Department and its director, Dr. Virginia Caine, over COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that they say violate their constitutional rights.

Indiana plans to borrow $300 million for jobless benefits

September 21, 2020 | Associated Press

The borrowing is needed because the state’s unemployment fund had about $40 million at the end of August, down from nearly $1 billion before joblessness exploded in March.

Indiana reports record 1,499 new COVID-19 cases, 17 more deaths

September 18, 2020 | Indianapolis Business Journal Staff and IL Staff

The Indiana State Department of Health on Friday reported 1,499 new COVID-19 cases. The number is an all-time high for cases in the daily report from the health department, but it includes the addition of 462 older positive cases resulting from a corrected laboratory reporting error.

Indiana vote-by-mail appeal brief warns of ‘confusing and chaotic’ election scenario

September 17, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Plaintiffs in the battle to expand no-excuse absentee voting in Indiana before the Nov. 3 general election filed their reply brief Wednesday, arguing the state’s suggestion of requiring all Hoosiers to vote in-person, regardless of age, would create a “more confusing and chaotic outcome.”

Barr takes aim at federal prosecutors, takes heat for slavery remarks

September 17, 2020 | Associated Press

Attorney General William Barr took aim at his own Justice Department on Wednesday night, criticizing prosecutors for behaving as “headhunters” in their pursuit of prominent targets in what he said were “ill-conceived” political probes. Barr also was criticized for comparing pandemic lockdowns to slavery.

Infection rates soar in college towns as students return

September 17, 2020 | Associated Press

Just two weeks after students started returning to Ball State University last month, the surrounding county had become Indiana’s coronavirus epicenter. The Muncie infection rate at the Muncie school has since declined, but university towns nationwide, particularly Bloomington, are seeing much higher rates of cases than their states overall.

SCOTUS to stick with arguments via telephone for now

September 16, 2020 | Associated Press and IL Staff

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will start its new term next month the way it ended the last one, with arguments by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic and live audio available to the public. The latter decision came at least in part at the urging of teachers from Chief Justice John Roberts’ Indiana high school.

Indiana still has $1.3 billion in coronavirus relief funds left to spend

September 16, 2020 | Lindsey Erdody, Indianapolis Business Journal

The state of Indiana is still sitting on more than $1 billion in federal coronavirus aid with a little more than three months to spend the funds.

2 dead of virus at Terre Haute federal prison

September 16, 2020

Two inmates have died in as many days from coronavirus at the federal prison complex ion Terre Haute where the U.S. government plans to carry out two executions next week.

Web Exclusive: Domestic violence shelters see fewer calls, more severe cases in pandemic

September 16, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

The silence was deafening. Little to no calls were coming in to the Middle Way House’s domestic violence help and crisis line in the months after Indiana’s stay at home orders, leaving Debra Morrow in a panic. “It got deathly quiet, and to us, that was horrifying. We were worried about those who couldn’t reach out.”

Coming full circle: Weissmann joins COA after years of appellate practice

September 16, 2020 | Olivia Covington

At 10 a.m. Monday, Leanna Weissmann transitioned from practitioner to judge. “What a star,” Chief Justice Loretta Rush said of Weissmann when her appointment was announced. “I will miss you standing before me arguing cases. … I always knew it would be a whale of an argument.”

In push for poll workers, lawyers are coveted recruits

September 16, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Anticipating a shortage of poll workers on Election Day, the Indiana Supreme Court has joined the recruitment effort. Lawyers who serve on Nov. 3 will be able to claim up to one hour of continuing legal education credit for going through the training and report the time worked as pro bono hours.

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