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courts \ crime \ drunk driving \ federal government
State unlikely to act on fed’s push for lower alcohol levels for driving
By Jesselyn Bickley TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – Federal officials are recommending that states reduce the amount of alcohol people can drink and still get behind the wheel. But a key state lawmaker says that’s not likely to happen in Indiana. The National Traffic Safety Board voted Tuesday on for a series of recommendations, including that states [...]
courts \ crime \ expungement \ Mike Pence \ sentencing
Pence signs sentencing, expungement bills into law
By Lesley Weidenbener TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mike Pence has signed bills to revamp the state’s felony sentencing laws and give some offenders the ability to expunge their records. “Indiana should be the worst place in America to commit a serious crime and the best place, once you’ve done your time, to get a second [...]
courts \ crime \ drugs \ sentencing
Criminal sentencing bill passed by Senate, heads to governor’s desk
By Lesley Weidenbener TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – The Senate gave final approval Friday to legislation that will revamp the state’s felony sentencing laws, with the goal of lessening penalties for lower-level drug offenses but forcing most inmates to serve more of their sentences. It’s the first wholesale overhaul of the criminal code since the 1970s and [...]
courts \ crime \ inmates \ prison \ sentencing
Overhaul of state’s sentencing laws set for passage Friday
By Darian Eswine TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – The House passed a bill Thursday that would overhaul the state’s felony sentencing laws, but questions remain about whether local governments will have enough money to make the changes effective. The Senate is expected to pass the bill Friday, which will send it to the governor who can sign [...]
children \ courts \ crime \ minors \ Sex
House and Senate work on child seduction bill
By Jesselyn Bickley TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – Therapists and other professional adults could be charged with child seduction if they have sex with 16- and 17-year-olds under legislation lawmakers are debating at the Statehouse. The House and Senate have passed bills that aim to address what lawmakers say is a loophole in the state’s current child [...]
courts \ crime \ meth \ Mike Pence
Pence gets bill to further limit cold medicine purchases
By Jesselyn Bickley TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – A bill meant to curb the use of pseudoephedrine to make meth passed the Senate on Tuesday and heads to Gov. Mike Pence’s desk. Senate Bill 496 is the latest effort by lawmakers to curb the use of pseudoephedrine – a key ingredient in some over-the-counter cold and allergy [...]
courts \ crime \ sentencing
Felony sentencing bill passes Senate
By Megan Banta TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – The Senate on Wednesday passed a criminal justice reform package. Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, who sponsored HB 1006 in the Senate, said it is the “largest bill of the year.” “It involves every aspect of every crime that we currently have on the books,” Steele said. The proposal overhauls [...]
courts \ crime \ judges \ juvenile
Bill gives judges more authority in sentencing juveniles
By Darian Eswine TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — A bill that gives judges more power when determining the fate of juvenile criminals passed in the Senate on Tuesday. The bill provides sentencing alternatives for youthful offenders. Often when juveniles commit adult crimes, they are sent to adult prisons. But Senate sponsor Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, said it might [...]
courts \ crime \ Mike Pence \ sentencing
Lawmakers work on criminal sentencing overhaul
By Tim Grimes TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – Proponents of a bill that would transform the Indiana criminal code said on Tuesday that the bill would lengthen sentences for the state’s worst offenders but reduce prison time for those who commit lower-level offenses. Overall, they said the bill will mean the state needs fewer prisons in the [...]
analysis \ column \ crime \ drunk driving \ highway \ Lesley Weidenbener
Analysis: Past battles over drunk driving levels are likely to be repeated
By Lesley Weidenbener TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS – National traffic safety officials are urging states to reduce the amount that folks can drink before getting behind the wheel – but don’t look to Indiana lawmakers to get behind the idea anytime soon. I remember when Indiana was one of the few remaining states with a legal blood [...]