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Sunday, December 26, 2010
Ind. Courts - More on "Clarksville may scrap its town court"
Updating this ILB entry from Dec. 23rd, Matt Thacker of the New Albany News & Tribune reports today:
CLARKSVILLE — Clarksville Town Council has scheduled two special meetings this week to discuss the possibility of eliminating the town’s court.ILB comment: Re the next to the last paragraph above, that all judges must be attorneys, IC 33-35-5-7 provides:Council President Greg Isgrigg said it will be a forum for the community to ask questions and voice concerns. Isgrigg said the data would be presented to the council since the topic has not been discussed at prior meetings.
The meetings come less than a month after Judge Sam Gwin announced he would retire at the end of the year to “pursue things outside the legal field.” If the council decides to keep the court, a caucus will be held to decide who will take the bench in 2011.
Since the four-year term expires in 2012, the seat would be up for re-election again next year.
“You’d have to do away with it this year,” Isgrigg said of the court. “You can’t do away with it in an election year.”
Isgrigg said Clerk-Treasurer Gary Hall provided the town with information showing it could save money by eliminating the court. Hall said he was asked to provide information regarding the financial condition of the court.
“The court is not self-sustaining, far from it,” Hall said. “I did not suggest [the town council] do away with the court. I just gave them information so they can make any decision they want to make.”
Total expenditures for the court in 2010, not including the last payroll, was $327,556. He said the court lost a projected $165,487 last year and $226,206 the year before.
He said fees paid by people on probation pay for part of the costs, but the town also pay a portion. The town court handles misdemeanor and traffic cases and ordinance violations.
Sellersburg and Charlestown are planning to abolish their courts after 2011. Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall said the court could be retained if revenues increased substantially next year. According to numbers presented at Charlestown City Council meeting, the city court lost between $40,000 and $45,000 in 2010.
Jeffersonville City Court Judge Ken Pierce spoke at the Charlestown City Council meeting in favor of keeping the city courts, arguing local courts provide an opportunity for community outreach. The Jeffersonville City Council considered abolishing its city court but ultimately decided to keep it. * * *
Even if the council decides to keep the town court, it may eventually be abolished by the state. The Indiana Judicial Conference released a report last year calling for drastic changes in the state’s judicial system, including eliminating all municipal courts.
“There are rumblings that the State of Indiana is going to do away with the [city and town] courts, so that’s going to be an issue,” Clarksville Councilman David Fisher said. “What we need to do is prepare for the future.”
A new requirement recently added by the Indiana Supreme Court is that all judges must be attorneys.
Gwin is an attorney, but some city and town judges across the state are not, and Isgrigg said that could limit their search.
Sec. 7. (a) A city court is not a court of record.
(b) A town court is not a court of record.
(c) A person selected as judge of the following courts must be an attorney in good standing under the requirements of the supreme court:(1) Anderson city court.As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.14.
(2) Avon town court.
(3) Brownsburg town court.
(4) Carmel city court.
(5) A city or town court located in Lake County.
(6) Muncie city court.
(7) Noblesville city court.
(8) Plainfield town court.
(9) Greenwood city court.
(10) Martinsville city court.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 26, 2010 01:22 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts