Indiana

Federal judge blocks Indiana from enforcing ‘ballot selfie’ ban

An Indiana law making it a felony offense to take a “ballot selfie” at polling places or share it on social media is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Monday. Granting a preliminary injunction sought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker said in…

Oct 20, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

County’s judges and public defenders are sued over alleged inadequate representation

Seven individuals have sued an Indiana county, contending that its public defender services are inadequate. Among other issues, the suit alleges, each Johnson County public defender is supervised by an individual judge, which compromises the public defenders’ independence, Courthouse News reports. Also at issue are what the suit describes as…

Oct 13, 2015 2:35 PM CDT

Federal judge dismisses ACLU suit over courthouse lawn nativity scene

A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights suit over a Christmas nativity scene at an Indiana courthouse, finding that Franklin County officials have cured the problem with a new ordinance. It allows other county residents to put displays of their own, religious or not, on the lawn outside the…

Sep 28, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Child abuse reporting law is often trumped by lawyer’s duty of confidentiality, ethics opinion says

A lawyer’s duty of confidentiality often trumps an Indiana law providing for mandatory reporting of child abuse, according to an Indiana ethics opinion. Lawyers who gain information about child abuse in the course of a representation cannot report it unless they get client consent or reporting is necessary to prevent…

Sep 11, 2015 9:09 AM CDT

7th Circuit overturns unique halvsies procedure for judicial elections

A judicial election system that produces an even split of Democratic and Republican judges is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Wednesday that the judicial selection system, used only in one Indiana county, burdens the right to vote…

Sep 9, 2015 12:20 PM CDT

Can cop have 0INK as his vanity plate? Top state court mulls First Amendment case

An Indiana cop may be on the verge of regaining his treasured 0INK vanity plate. The state’s top court heard arguments Thursday on a class action pursued by Greenfield police officer Rodney Vawter, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, after his renewal application for the…

Aug 27, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

This dog helped sniff out porn evidence against Jared Fogle

A Labrador named Bear helped find a thumb drive in the home of Jared Fogle, playing a key role in child porn charges against the former Subway pitchman. The dog is trained to find electronic components through smell. NBC News says Bear is one of five dogs in the nation…

Aug 26, 2015 7:21 AM CDT

Indiana county clerk banned from courthouse in dispute with judges

An Indiana county clerk has been banned from the courthouse in a dispute with the county’s judges. The judges have issued a temporary restraining order preventing Blackford County Clerk Derinda Shady from entering the courthouse grounds, the Muncie, Indiana, Star Press reports. The dispute apparently began in early August, according…

Aug 24, 2015 4:35 PM CDT

Wrong man arrested on ‘troubling’ reality TV show has no civil rights case, 7th Circuit rules

Allowing a television reality show to pay and film police homicide detectives as they are investigating a case is hardly a good idea, a federal appeals court says. And it is easy to see how such a joint effort by producers of The Shift and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department…

Aug 19, 2015 2:18 PM CDT

7th Circuit says court erred by upholding prison’s refusal to allow inmate and former guard to marry

A constitutional right to marry includes prison inmates and the guards. So a federal district judge erred in granting summary judgment to the Indiana Department of Corrections in a civil rights suit over a blocked wedding, a federal appeals court says. In a unanimous ruling (PDF), a three-judge panel of…

Aug 18, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

Mayor declares local Wal-Mart a public nuisance

The mayor of the Indiana town of Beech Grove has declared its Wal-Mart a public nuisance, a designation that will allow the town to assess fines when police are called to the store. The nuisance declaration by Mayor Dennis Buckley followed two shoplifting incidents that resulted in two deaths, the…

Aug 18, 2015 9:09 AM CDT

Nearly 4 million affected by hack on medical records systems software company, feds say

Nearly 4 million patients of 11 health care providers in multiple states were affected by a hack attack earlier this year on Medical Informatics Engineering. The Indiana-based company creates software for Internet-based medical records systems used by health care providers, the Associated Press explained when the intrusion was announced in…

Aug 4, 2015 2:50 PM CDT

Five years after ‘Rosa’s Law’ eliminated ‘R-word’ from federal lexicon, movement continues to grow

At age 14, Rosa Marcellino already has an enviable track record as a lobbyist. Five years ago, she was a central figure, along with her parents and other family members, in a national campaign to pass a law requiring federal government officials to eliminate the “R-word”—mentally retarded—from their lexicon. Although…

Jul 24, 2015 4:06 PM CDT

This law school will give 100% scholarships to all of its students; it’s not too late to apply

Updated: Indiana Tech Law School is offering 100 percent scholarships to all students enrolled there next year after failing to win provisional accreditation in June from the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Law dean Charles Cercone tells the ABA Journal that anyone enrolled in the…

Jul 23, 2015 9:15 AM CDT

Defendant jailed after ‘I defy you Satan’ comment to judge during contempt hearing

A former professional boxer whose sanity is at issue in an ongoing Indiana attempted rape trial has already been sentenced to a 10-day jail term for his remarks to jurors and the judge. Santiago Valdez, 59, has been diagnosed as schizophrenic but was determined to be competent to stand trial…

Jul 22, 2015 10:50 AM CDT