Indiana

Licensed to Ill

Posted on July 07, 2008
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita says nearly two-thirds of the state’s mortgage brokers didn’t bother to take a standardized license exam as required by law. The General Assembly passed the law last year to toughen requirement for brokers...

Just the Facts

Posted on July 07, 2008
We’ve added a new link here at Indiana Barrister to help you guys and gals make more informed decisions in this year’s Presidential election.   In the links column we’ve added the website FactCheck.Org. FactCheck.Org does a very good job at keeping everyone honest at the national level...

New Jacked Up City

Posted on July 06, 2008
Another day, another murder.  This one was last night at 40th and Keystone.  A 24-year old man was found dead from gunshot wounds.  To date there have been about 60 homicides in Indianapolis, and while overall crime is down, particularly aggravated assault, it doesn’t help when the public picks up a newspaper or turns on [...

Happy 4th of July

Posted on July 04, 2008
Have a good 4th of July.   Remember as we celebrate America’s birthday that it’s alright to disagree, just try not to be too disagreeable in the process.

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

No Response Required

Posted on July 03, 2008
My recent post on crime in this town has apparently caused quite a little stir.  Some friends have asked me if I’m going to respond to what’s been written in the blogosphere?  Not really.  The way I figure it, if someone doesn’t have enough synaptic activity to understand sarcasm and satire when they read it,  then what would be [...

G.O.P. In G.O.O.D. Mood

Posted on July 03, 2008
Indiana Republicans are hailing a new poll of 1,000 likely voters showing incumbent Governor Mitch Daniels with a 14-point lead over Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson. Here are some of the highlights… Daniels leads JLT 50-36 percent. Daniels’ approval rating is 55-33 percent...

Frank?s Follies

Posted on July 03, 2008
There is another story of another IMPD officer getting in trouble.  This story is on the heals of another IMPD officer who got in trouble and three other IMPD officers who got in trouble.  And they are not to be confused with the former Public Safety Advisor turned Marion County Sheriff employee who is also [...

Now This Is a Good Idea

Posted on July 02, 2008
Everyone who knows me knows I have no use for township government, however today the Marion County Township Trustees get a major thumbs up from me.  I hear there’s a plan being circulated amongst the Trustees that would put people who repeatedly get poor relief to do mandatory work for either the township or the County [...

Time to Take the Kids Gloves Off

Posted on July 01, 2008
There are two more stories of violence in Indianapolis this morning.  One involved the shooting of a man at 38th Moeller Road, the second was a shooting last night outside the Walker Theatre. Frankly, I’m getting a little tired of  reading or watching another story about violence in this community...

When McCain Speaks?

Posted on July 01, 2008
John McCain will be speaking at 11a.m. in Indianapolis today.  You can watch it here courtesy of my friends at WRTV.

JLT Gas Tax Redux

Posted on July 01, 2008
Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson is expected to continue her call to suspend the sales tax on gasoline at a news conference in Indianapolis today.   If you’re interested in what she has to say you can find an extensive interview here done back in May 2007 by my good friend Thomas Cook over at  [...

Good Riddance to Bad Law

Posted on July 01, 2008
The only thing better than when a bad law is tossed out from the courts as unconstitutional is when a stupid law is thrown out. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker said a state law that would have forced stores and retailers to pay $250 to register if they sold sexually explicit material was vague and [...

Watered Down

Posted on June 30, 2008
The word is in on the number of signatures collected by Taxpayer Party candidate John Waterman.  So far Waterman has 128 reported signatures that means he has to collect 32, 872 by the end of today.  Do you believe in miracles?

My Brother From Another Mother

Posted on June 29, 2008
I’m wrapping up my business trip to St. Louis this morning, but I had to share this story from dinner last night. My old law school friends and I got together and started talking about the Presidential race. One of my good friends who is a true-hearted conservative from Kansas asked me who I thought [...

Lock and Load

Posted on June 26, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court has said you have an individual right to own a gun. It also said you do not have the individual right to own a weapon that can be fired from the shoulder. The opinion in D.C v. Heller went through a very detailed (157 pages) analysis of the 2nd Amendment...

Watch Out

Posted on June 26, 2008
I’m taking a few days off to go play attorney in Missouri. In the meanwhile, I’m leaving the forum open for you guys and gals to talk about whatever floats your boat. Here are a couple things to watch out for while I’m out. Watch for the GOP to select youth worker Gabrielle Campo as their [...

Why Can?t We Be Friends?

Posted on June 25, 2008
I’m trying to figure out what’s up with Democratic candidate for Governor Jill Long Thompson and former candidate Jim Schellinger.  Schellinger wrote an op-ed piece for the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette reflecting on the primary.  He said while running a statewide campaign was challenging, he enjoyed meeting with Hoosiers from across Indiana...

The Just Us League

Posted on June 24, 2008
I’ve been spending some time going over the recent lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Indiana over the state’s Voter ID law.  Although the law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the League argues it violates the State Constitution...

A Few More Simple Rules

Posted on June 23, 2008
My counterpart Jennifer Wagner has posted a few simple rules that people in politics should follow that can same them a lot of grief and hassle.  In that spirit, and in the wake of the news of the arrest of City-County Councilor Doris Minton-McNeil, I figured a few more rules might be in order for those [...

County Dems Speak Out on Minton-McNeill

Posted on June 23, 2008
Marion County Democratic Party Chairman Mike O’Connor has issued a statement regarding the arrest of CCC member Doris Minton-McNeill. It reads as follows. ?As this situation moves forward and we learn the facts, it is important that the process be allowed to work without any outside interference or partisan distractions...

Watch This When You Get Home

Posted on June 23, 2008
This is a friendly reminder on obeying the law from 21st Century philosopher Chris Rock. If more politicians would follow these rules everybody’s life would be easier…  

Your Government In-Action

Posted on June 23, 2008
Here are the three big things that happened at tonight’s City-County Council Meeting. The Council approved a measure putting the issue of keeping the township assessors on the November ballot. It also voted down a procedural motion which would have allowed you to pay your property tax reconcilliation bill in installments...

Every Democrat Has His Day

Posted on June 22, 2008
I’m in Chicago this morning introducing the girlfriend to the family, which by the way is going very well.  She and my mother love each other and having a great time.  That could of course be bad for me in the long run, but I’ll risk it. In the meantime, my producer Chris Spangle, attended yesterday’s [...

City-County Councilor Arrested

Posted on June 22, 2008
Indianapolis City-County Councilor Doris Minton-McNeil was arrested tonight at her home for allegedly shoving a police officer while intoxicated. According to IMPD sources, police were called to McNeil’s residence in the 2000 block of Medford Avenue at about 6 this evening...

FYI?

Posted on June 20, 2008
I’m heading out of town this weekend to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary.  My present will be to introduce them to the person who will likely be their daughter-in-law.  That means I will miss the Indiana Democratic State Convention on Saturday...

Exit, Stage Left?

Posted on June 19, 2008
I’m hearing this morning that Marion County Democratic Party Chairman Mike O’Connor may step down as County Chairman after this weekend’s State Democratic Convention.   I’m also told the resignation, if it comes, is far from voluntary...

Put Up or Shut Up!

Posted on June 19, 2008
Now that Jon Elrod has dropped out of the race for the 7th Congressional District, there is a question as to who (if anybody) will step up to run in his place. A replacement would have to be chosen by GOP precinct committeemen in the District. I’ll let you guys play the name game, but [...

It Depends on What You Ask

Posted on June 19, 2008
There is a new poll out on the Governor’s race. It was conducted by the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in partnership with SurveyUSA. The poll asked four questions of more than 400 respondents, was conducted June 10-12 and got four different results...

Elrod Stays In 97TH

Posted on June 18, 2008
Republican Jon Elrod is abandoning his race for Congress and instead focusing on the 97th House District. Elrod told me he was at a crossroads and weighed where the voters were and where he could do the most good. He said it was better to focus on a hard-fought return to the statehouse rather than [...

The Odd Couple

Posted on June 17, 2008
It’s official.   Democratic Candidate for Governor Jill Long Thompson named State Rep. Dennie Oxley of English as her running mate for Lt. Governor.  Although the two disagree on social issues (abortion, gay marriage) they say they united on economic issues and the need to turn Indiana around...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.