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Monday, January 26, 2009
Ind. Courts - New chief judge of St. Joseph Superior Court interviewed
Pablo Ros of the South Bend Tribune reports:
Judge Michael P. Scopelitis of St. Joseph Superior Court has been selected as chief judge of the court for the next two years. He takes over from Judge John M. Marnocha. * * *Q: Are there any challenges facing the court this year? * * *
A: First, security in this courthouse is an issue that we need to deal with. We had a study done by the U.S. marshals a few years ago, and they pointed out a
few things that need to be addressed in terms of security.
For example, you just walked in and came into my office, and if you had a bone to pick with me you could have kept right on going. And some people have. Some people walk in, and they come in unannounced. Some of them are upset. And you don't need a gun or a knife to do harm, you could pick up a chair and do a lot of harm to a staff member or a judge.
The second thing is I want to work with Judge (Michael) Gotsch and the commissioners and the County Council to figure out a way we can finish the renovation of the old jail and the jail addition.
We need the space desperately. It takes money, and money is scarce, but that is a priority.
The third thing is computerization of all the courtrooms. (A state program) gave us more than a dozen computers and monitors recently, and I just received a message that they're going to provide us with another nine or 10 computers at no charge to the county.
What else is on the plate? The election of judges bill. I'm going to do everything that I can to see to it that that bill is defeated. It is not good for the public.
I want to do whatever I can as one person and one voice to see to it that every trial judge in this state is merit selected.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 26, 2009 12:12 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts