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Rokita Asks Supreme Court To Intervene In Emergency Powers Lawsuit

All three branches of Indiana government are tied up in a dispute over emergency powers.
(Brandon Smith/IPB News)
All three branches of Indiana government are tied up in a dispute over emergency powers.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is trying again to block the governor’s lawsuit over an emergency powers law.

Rokita is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to step in after his previous attempts to bury the suit failed.

Gov. Eric Holcomb sued the General Assembly because he thinks a new law, HB 1123, that allows lawmakers to call themselves into special session during a public emergency (like COVID-19) is unconstitutional.

Rokita has objected since the beginning, in part because he argues the governor can’t sue anyone without the attorney general’s say-so, and Rokita didn’t give his permission.

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But a Marion County judge denied Rokita’s efforts to halt the lawsuit in its tracks and blocked the AG’s attempt to appeal. Now, Rokita is taking his case to the state’s highest court.

There is no timetable for how – or even whether – the state Supreme Court will act.

Contact reporter Brandon at  bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state.
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