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Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Ind. Courts - Still more on "New judge's hires stir up controversy"
Updating this entry from yesterday, Grace Schneider of the Louisville Courier Journal reports today under the headline "Clark council may block court hirings: Colleagues assail Clark judge's action." Some quotes:
The Clark County Council signaled yesterday that it may reverse its decision earlier this month to allow new Clark Circuit Judge Abe Navarro to hire two Republican Party members to replace two fired employees. * * *Council Chairman David Abbott said that council members agreed that they should hold a special meeting to vote to rescind their approval of the positions. "All of the council wants to get this behind them," Abbott said. The situation "just gives us a black eye." * * *
The council approved Navarro's plans to pay Snelling and Buskill salaries beyond the county's standard pay scale, $30,000 and $35,727, respectively. Some $6,175 of the court administrator's salary is expected to come from the circuit court's probation-user fees.
When asked about the higher salaries last week, Navarro told The Courier-Journal that the men would have a heavier workload, and that justified the additional pay. He said a redistribution of some felony drug cases into his court and other courts has increased the staff's burden.
The other judges, all Democrats, have vigorously protested the actions. Judge Vicki L. Carmichael of Clark Superior Court No. 1, Judge Ceil Blau of Superior Court No. 2 and Judge Steven M. Fleece of Superior Court No. 3 all signed a three-page letter warning that the council's decisions could expose the county to costly litigation over Navarro's handling of the jobs and the probation fees.
The judges questioned Navarro's reasons for needing more money for the jobs, writing that circuit court under Donahue had combined the additional drug cases into his office's workload for the last 18 months, with no unusual burden.
The judges' letter yesterday said Navarro's hiring of Buskill and Snelling violates the judicial code of conduct prohibiting party activities and employing a political party's central committee member.
"The fact that Republican County Chairman Buskill is the person who recommended Judge Navarro for the appointment over fellow Republican candidate Jeremy Mull gives rise to the appearance of an improper political payback," the judges wrote.
They also said the county is at risk of "opening a Pandora's box" by spending probation fees on a staff salary after the Indiana Supreme Court ruled last fall that Clark County must restrict its use of such fees to probation-related services.
They described Navarro's shake-up as a "poorly disguised political purge" that may violate federal and civil rights laws and the state's judicial code of conduct.
They also indicated they were ready to notify state Supreme Court judicial disciplinary officials if Navarro tried to give Buskill the court administrator's position.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 17, 2008 10:46 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts