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Saturday, November 11, 2006
Ind. Courts - Centralize many of Lake County's 27 courts?
Bill Dolan of the Munster (NW Indiana) Times reports today:
CROWN POINT | A court reform organization is suggesting changes in how and where Lake County courts do business.The National Center for State Courts told local judges this week they might increase their efficiency by consolidating the county's 27 courts and possibly moving some to a central location, possibly this city where a dozen courtrooms already exist.
"What I think the national center is looking to implement is more cohesiveness: centralized administration, centralized probation departments, centralized public defender staffs, centralized courts," Chief Lake County Superior Court Judge John Pera said Friday,
He and Senior Superior Court Civil Division Judge Gerald Svetanoff said they realize talk of moving court facilities could be political dynamite.
The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is working on behalf of the Good Government study, an effort to make government more efficient. It is privately funded by BP, Mittal Steel, NiSource, U.S. Steel and Whiteco.
Ken Murray, a consultant coordinating the overall study of county government, said Wednesday's meeting with local judges was a review of the best practices of other courts around the country.
"We give them the opportunity to respond to it. At this point nothing constitutes a formal recommendation," Murray said, adding the report won't be made public before next month.
Senior Superior Court Civil Division Judge Gerald Svetanoff, who sits in Gary, said the report was a comprehensive mixture of routine administrative improvements and other suggestions he called pie in the sky.
The county has a mixture of courts with overlapping jurisdictions. There already are 12 state and municipal courts in Crown Point, four in Hammond, three in Gary and two in East Chicago. There are single municipal courts in Hobart, Lake Station, Lowell, Merrillville, Schererville and Whiting.
"One of the recommendations is that all of the courts be centrally located in Lake County, the city and town courts be eliminated and taken over by the Superior Court," Pera said.
Svetanoff said, "The idea of bringing in all of the peripheral courts in the system would require a lot of legislative changes and a huge (cash) outlay.
"What is going to happen in Gary, Hammond, East Chicago that don't really have access to transportation to get out to Crown Point? How are they going to be able to participate in the court process? That would be a big issue," Svetanoff said.
Pera said it might make more sense to keep municipal and county division courts -- heavily used by the public -- where they are, but centralize civil courts used mostly by lawyers.
Lowell Town Judge Thomas Vanes said Friday he wasn't made a part of the Wednesday's meeting and questions the motives of those making the suggestions.
"This is being run by the National Center for State Courts, which now wants more state courts. Big surprise. I would guess the national association of concrete manufacturers probably wants more highways," Vanes quipped.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 11, 2006 07:30 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts