Pence backs study of county government reforms

INDIANAPOLIS | State lawmakers are expected to study the structure of Indiana county government this summer with an eye toward establishing a single county executive.

House backs study on structure of county government

INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana House wants to take another look at county government reforms recommended by the 2007 Kernan-Shepard Report on streamlining local government.

EDITORIAL: Demerits to Lake judges for disobeying law

Lake County's judicial selection process is a model the rest of the state should follow. It is shameful that some of Lake County's judges are attempting to circumvent it.

Appeals court upholds cold case conviction in Black Oak murder

INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed the 2011 murder conviction of a former Gary man for the 1992 killing of a woman in Gary's Black Oak neighborhood.

Gubernatorial candidates on the hot seat

INDIANAPOLIS | Policy, not politics, was the focus of a unique forum Tuesday that saw Indiana's former chief justice interview the three men seeking to become the state's next chief executive.

Region native takes oath as state's chief justice

INDIANAPOLIS | New Chief Justice Brent Dickson pledged Monday that the Indiana Supreme Court will remain as highly esteemed in the state and across the nation on his watch as it has been under his predecessors.

Governor to swear in new chief justice Monday

INDIANAPOLIS | A man born in Gary and raised in Hobart will be formally sworn in as Chief Justice of Indiana at 9 a.m. region time Monday at the Statehouse.

Court prohibits sales tax technicality used to seize vehicle

INDIANAPOLIS | Sales tax cannot be included to reach the $100 minimum threshold of stolen goods that allows police to seize and sell a vehicle used in a theft, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Darden retiring

INDIANAPOLIS | The state panel that recommends candidates for appellate court judgeships picked up a third task Thursday when an Indiana Court of Appeals judge announced he's retiring.

EDITORIAL: Expand use of judicial nominating process

Monday's resignation of a second Indiana Supreme Court justice puts the spotlight on the merit selection process again. It's a model the Indiana General Assembly should expand to include all judges.

Another veteran justice leaving Indiana Supreme Court

INDIANAPOLIS | Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. announced Monday he will leave the Indiana Supreme Court this summer after 19 years to teach law at Indiana University in Indianapolis.

Ind. justice's swearing-in highlights state's merit selection

INDIANAPOLIS | The selection process that began in December when Chief Justice Randall Shepard announced his retirement ends Monday when Mark Massa takes the oath of office to become Indiana's 107th Supreme Court justice.

Region native debuts as acting chief justice at Supreme Court

INDIANAPOLIS | For the first time in a quarter-century, a new chief justice sat in the center seat during oral arguments at the Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Gary native takes helm as Indiana's acting chief justice

INDIANAPOLIS | A Northwest Indiana native is the top judge in the state.

Gov. Daniels selects Mark Massa for Supreme Court

INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mitch Daniels has appointed Mark Massa, his former general counsel and a former federal and county prosecutor, to the Indiana Supreme Court.

Justices rule Daniels should pick secretary of state

INDIANAPOLIS | Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels will select Indiana's next secretary of state after the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Democratic Party claim that Republican Charlie White was not eligible to run for office.

EDITORIAL: Gender should be reserved for tie-breaker

As Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels considers the three finalists for the new state Supreme Court justice, he should include gender as one of the criteria he uses.

Gender unlikely to tip scales for new Ind. justice

INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to appoint the best qualified person to be the newest Supreme Court justice, even if that means Indiana remains one of three states without a female justice.

Finalists for Ind. Supreme Court include former Hammond resident

INDIANAPOLIS | The director of the Indiana Judicial Center, who lived in Hammond for seven years as a child, is one of three finalists nominated Thursday to replace retiring Chief Justice Randall Shepard on the Indiana Supreme Court.