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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Ind. Courts - "Judge Nemeth vs. St. Joseph County trial under way"

The South Bend Tribune reports this afternoon:

A trial is under way today that will decide whether St. Joseph County Probate Judge Peter Nemeth has the authority to mandate raises for some court employees and spend $313,000 for physical improvements at the Juvenile Justice Facility.

Nemeth filed suit against St. Joseph County after reaching a stalemate with county officials over funding matters.

Nemeth took the stand this morning, testifying that the improvements and raises are necessary in order to provide adequate services for the growing juvenile court caseload.

Nemeth and county officials are in a legal fight over $313,000 in funding the county refused to release in 2008 to renovate parts of the Juvenile Justice Center. Nemeth issued a judicial mandate order seeking to obtain the money.

Nemeth also issued a judicial mandate seeking to use probation services fees to fund raises for the juvenile/probate court's executive secretary, fiscal officer, JJC director and five other managers. The proposed raises range from 10 percent increases to nearly 44 percent in the case of the fiscal officer.

The employees listed haven't received raises in several years, and the increases would put them at comparable salaries to employees in Superior and Circuit courts, Nemeth said.

The JJC renovations sought are necessary in order to provide adequate services, Nemeth said.

"We are having to release children into the community without them having the adequate supervision they need," he said.

The case is being heard by attorney William Satterlee of Valparaiso, who was appointed to act as a special judge for the trial.

For background, see this list of earlier ILB entries.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 23, 2009 04:04 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts