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Monday, December 18, 2006
Ind. Courts - Putnam County Council nixes third court
The Greencastle Banner Graphic reports today, in a story by Lisa Meyer Trigg that begins:
A request to create a third court in Putnam County to ease judicial congestion has died at the hands of the Putnam County Council.Local attorneys and judges presented their case to the council and the county commissioners during a joint session of those boards Friday, the final day for legislation to create the court to be submitted at the Indiana Statehouse. If the third court was not created by the legislature in 2007, it could not go through the 2008 election process for a judge to take the bench in 2009. The next opportunity for election will be 2010, with the judge taking the bench in 2011.
Commissioners Dennis O'Hair, Gene Beck and Kristina Warren had heard the plea from Judges Robert Lowe and Matt Headley just days earlier. Council members Don Walton, Darrel Thomas, Mitch Proctor, Larry Parker and Jay Fogle also received supporting information Friday from attorneys Jeff Boggess and Del Brewer.
The courts are now so overloaded with cases, Boggess said, that the civil matters to be taken over by a third court do not now receive the prompt attention they need.
“There is a tremendous societal cost for not having the things in government we need,” he said. The overloaded courts affect people who are owed child support, who pay too much child support, small businesses that are owned money, landlords and tenants with disputes, and others who need a timely resolution to their cases.
On the criminal side, he said, the verdict in an attempted murder case is under attack in the higher courts due to the time it took to get that case through the local court system. The local decision may be overturned because the case could not be tried within the time limit.
“I understand it is expensive,” Boggess said of creating the third court, “but I ask on behalf of the public for you to consider funding it.”
Brewer, who worked 22 years in the prosecutor's office, said things have changed considerably since 1979 when he conducted the county's business from his own personal office. The number of criminal and civil cases has grown, but the resources to handle those cases has not kept pace.
Judge Headley urged the county leaders to find the resources to pay for the new court. He and Judge Lowe had requested that the new court take over the first floor courthouse space now occupied by the adult probation department.
Headley presented cost estimates for the renovation of the probation space, and also the personnel costs expected with the addition of the court. He estimated the cost of operating the court at $170,000 annually, renovation costs at around $100,000, and one-time equipment costs at $80,000.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 18, 2006 04:42 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts