A federal judge has ruled in a police tape controversy that has dogged South Bend for several years. Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen of the US District Court in Hammond ruled that the recordings of a police officer’s phone line made prior to February 4, 2011 did not violate the Wiretap Act because they were…
Marriage licenses are being issued to same-sex couples in St. Joseph County beginning today. The County Clerk’s office says that they began issuing the licenses this morning after receiving word from the 7th Circuit Appeals Court in Chicago that a stay on their ruling — which found Indiana’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional — had been…
Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriage is in doubt today as the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago held oral arguments. A federal district court judge struck down the ban in June, ruling that the law is unconstitutional. Indiana appealed the lower court ruling to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals combined…
As the South Bend Voice reported on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby in a 5-4 decision along ideological lines. The Court’s conservatives prevailed, ruling that the government could not force for-profit “closely-held” corporations (i.e. private, family-owned) such as Hobby Lobby to include contraception in their health care coverage. What the…
Today’s marriage equality ruling was historic. Judge Young’s ruling means that Indiana joins twenty other states where same-sex marriage is legal. State courts or US District Courts in another seven states have ruled that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional but appeals remain pending. All of this happened on the same day that the 10th…
US District Court Judge Richard Young ruled today that found Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. As we reported earlier today, several counties in Indiana are already issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, including Marion (Indianapolis), St. Joseph (South Bend, Mishawaka), and La Porte (Michigan City). We have the full ruling below: Indiana Gay…
