INND News

September 30, 2013

Government Shutdown May Soon Affect USPTO and Federal Courts

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Office (“USPTO”) and federal courts may be affected by a government shutdown, which will begin tomorrow if Congress does not enact a continuing resolution to fund government operations today.

The federal court system will not be affected immediately. During the first 10 business days of a lapse in appropriations, the judiciary will use available fee and no-year balances to pay judges and court employees, and to maintain court operations. Courts will continue to operate, but court personnel have been instructed to conserve funding as much as possible by delaying or deferring expenses that are not critical to the performance of their constitutional responsibilities.

After the 10-day period, if there is still no appropriation, the judiciary will operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows “essential work” to continue during a lapse in appropriations. Among the definitions of “essential work” are powers exercised under the Constitution, which include activities to support the exercise of Article III judicial powers, specifically the resolution of cases.

December 31, 2012

Northern District of Indiana Amends Local Rules Effective January 1, 2013

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Local Rules for the Northern District of Indiana have been revised and are effective January 1, 2013. The rules which have been amended are L.R. 1-1, L.R. 5-3, L.R. 6-1, L.R. 16-1, L.R. 83-6.7, L.Cr.R. 47-2, L.Cr.R. 47-3 and Local Patent Rules LPR 1-1 through 6-1.

A complete copy of the newly adopted Local Rules can be viewed by following the link provided below.

October 17, 2012

New U.S. Magistrate Judge Selected for Northern District of Indiana

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

John E. Martin will replace Magistrate Judge Andrew P. Rodovich in the Northern District of Indiana’s Hammond Division. Rodovich is retiring from the bench.

Mr. Martin is a deputy federal community defender in Hammond, representing indigent clients. Prior to working as a federal defender, Martin worked in private practice and was a deputy prosecutor in Porter County. He has also worked as a part-time public defender in Porter Superior Court.

Forty-two people applied for the judgeship.

November 8, 2011

Northern District of Indiana Rolls Out Proposed Changes to Local Rules

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Fort Wayne, IN – The Northern District of Indiana has published proposed changes to the local rules. The proposed changes would affect many rules, however, are not intended to change the substance of the local rules. Rather, the changes are proposed in order to simplify and clarify the language of the rules. The court has released “Guiding Principles” to the revisions, stating the goals of the revisions include: conforming to the style, organization, format and terminology of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and to follow generally accepted American-English sentence construction. The numbering system of the local rules will also be changed slightly under new proposal.

The public and bar are invited to comment on the proposed local rule changes through a link provided on the Court’s website.