Indiana Republican legislators want to eliminate a firearms lawsuit 25 years after it was filed. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
When I was in the active practice of law, I was used to winning some cases and losing others. When my client lost at the trial level, I would sometimes appeal to a higher court if I felt the legal rules had not been applied correctly at the trial court level. Regardless of the result, I respected the judicial process and the role our courts played in resolving disputes.
A bill now moving through the General Assembly threatens to upend Indiana’s judicial system.
House Bill 1235 , introduced by Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, and already passed by the Indiana House, is intended to end an almost 25-year-old case brought by the City of Gary by changing the legal rules on who can bring a case to court retroactively. The details of the case should not be the main concern here; rather, we should look more closely at and fully understand the dangerous precedent this bill will set.