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Sunday, April 11, 2010
Ind. Courts - "Gary City Court in session, barely: Deal keeps City Court open, but more cost-cutting, closure possible"
Jon Seidel has a long story in today's Gary Post Tribune that begins:
GARY -- Judge Pro Tem J. Maurice Patton took the bench around 9:30 Friday morning, facing a city courtroom filled with about 50 people.Soon he was presiding over the day's traffic trials, listening as defendants argued against citations for crimes like failing to stop for a stop sign, parking where prohibited and driving without insurance.
This was a typical Friday morning for the Gary City Court. Judge Deidre Monroe said it sees 500 to 800 people every week, funded by a shrinking budget, now set at $1.5 million. It hears traffic, domestic violence, drug-court cases and others. Defendants are left to sit on broken chairs as maintenance is deferred.
Gary City Court continues to be a cost-cutting target as cash dries up for city government. In a report last year, Gary's fiscal monitor suggested the city close the court, putting a new burden on the county court system and county taxpayers.
If it closes, Lake Superior Court Chief Judge John Pera said the county would be obligated to take on the extra work.
"Those cases have to be heard," Pera said. "They have to be filed somewhere. Where else are they going to turn but the Lake Superior Court system?"
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 11, 2010 10:57 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts