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Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Ind. Courts - "Judge: Not enough jurists for cases in Elkhart County"
So reports Justin Leighty today in the Elkhart Truth:
GOSHEN -- Elkhart County has the equivalent of 10.5 judges doing the work of nearly 18 judges.
That's what Elkhart Circuit Judge Terry Shewmaker told county officials to set the stage for discussion Thursday morning about increasing efficiency in the local justice system.
Speaking in advance of Thursday's county summit meeting, Shewmaker said that while the county has to fund many court operations, county officials don't have a role to play in how those courts are run. "Any change will have to come from the state," Shewmaker said.In the letter to county leaders, he wrote, "Clearly, there are many cases to resolve; however, we continue to be innovative and efficient in disposing of cases."
The courts continued to reduce the number of pending cases in 2008 and 2009 (the latest year numbers were available) by more than 500 cases each year, Shewmaker wrote.
Shewmaker told county leaders in his letter that the county's cost-per-minute on cases is much less than comparable counties. He said judges are doing more to get criminal defendants to reimburse the county while they're on probation for the services of the public defender's office. Judges are also working to collect unpaid fees for community-corrections programs, he said.
Probation user fees have been increased to the maximum allowed under state law, Shewmaker wrote.
While cases in Elkhart County expanded by 31 percent over the last decade, nearly double the amount of court growth statewide, "We are doing the best we can with the resources we have," Shewmaker wrote. The county court system "is operating in an effective and efficient manner. We as judges continue to explore new ways to streamline the judicial process."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 2, 2011 10:21 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts