A Hope-Filled Future Articles
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Issue 27.1 | SPRING 2018 A HOPE-FILLED FUTURE ARTICLES State of the Judiciary 2 Judicial Selection in Marion County 7 Indiana Bar Foundation Honorees 8 Customer Service in Indiana Courts 9 2017 Winter Workshop 11 The Legacy of Vivian Bridgeforth Smith 12 IOCS Program Grants 17 A HOPE-FILLED FUTURE COLUMNS BITS & BYTES On January 10, 2018, Chief Justice of Indiana Loretta Rush delivered Electronic Filing 6 her fourth address on the State of the Judiciary to a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly. SPOTLIGHT Judiciary Highlights 10 Highlights of the speech follow. Chief Justice Rush reported that the We also invite you to read the judicial branch is renewed, respected, SIDEBAR entire text, watch the video, and resolved - in a word, strong. Honorable David N. Riggins 14 and view photographs at: In 2017, there were 1,316,714 cases FAMILY VIOLENCE courts.in.gov/supreme/2570.htm filed in our trial courts ranging from Intimate Partner Violence business litigation to foreclosures, from in the LGBTQ Community 16 The Supreme Court Justices and Court family violence to property rights, from of Appeals Judges were greeted by human trafficking to elder abuse and, of ASK ADRIENNE escorts from the House and Senate, course, the drug crisis. Judicial Selection & Disqualification 18 including Representatives Jim Baird, Sheila Klinker, Robin Shackleford, Tom Washburne and Senators Aaron The Drug Crisis Freeman, Tim Lanane, Victoria Spartz, In preparing her remarks, the Chief and Greg Taylor. Guests, media, elected Justice asked the Governor and officials, and over 60 trial court judges legislative leaders for their input. The were present. Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch common question: how is the judiciary called the session to order. addressing the opioid crisis? Before the address, those present saw Addiction has swept into every community a montage of photos from the happiest and is flooding every court—not just in day in court: Adoption Day. The Supreme Indiana, but across our country. Rush, Court allowed the use of cameras in who was recently appointed co-chair of court for those proceedings to capture the National Judicial Opioid Task Force, the hope-filled faces of some of the 220 reported that this crisis requires using children in 33 Indiana courthouses who well-reasoned, evidence-based judicial joined their forever families in one of interventions to get people to treatment, the most adoption-friendly states in the give consequences, cut the supply, country. support families, and save lives. 2 SPRING 2018 courttimes Photos by Patrick McCauley and Jonathan Hawkins The Indiana judiciary is responding to the opioid crisis by: • Convening teams from each county to participate in extensive training on treatment for substance use disorder; • Developing a judicial toolbox for effective and evidence-based court-ordered drug treatment; • Extending the reach of problem-solving courts, which will number over 100 by the end of this year; • Advancing drug courts in child welfare cases that involve the entire family in the parents’ treatment; • Expanding our corps of CASA volunteers to support the children of parents swept up in the horrors of addiction; • Supporting community corrections, pretrial, and jail- based programs so treatment begins as early as possible; Opposite: Adoption Day photographs are shown on the monitors in the House Chamber prior to the • Leveraging court technology to start of the speech. Above: State leaders listen as Chief Justice Loretta Rush delivers the State of the Judiciary address in the House Chamber. slow the supply of drugs from hitting Indiana streets; and The Office of Personnel and Operations, after which the Court adopted a rule to allow • Supporting efforts to expand led by Brenda Rodeheffer, worked to move judges to operate across county lines to treatment and prevention administrative offices closer to the State provide assistance where needed. Judges House at a lower rent. are also crossing county lines to develop programs in our communities. regional drug or veterans courts as they The Indiana Office of Court Services have in Warren and Fountain counties. combines the former Indiana Judicial Center and Division of State Court Modernizing Indiana’s Administrative Restructuring Administration, streamlining interactions with judges and maintaining high-caliber Judicial Branch The Court completed an extensive training and programming. Rush touted 24/7 access to the courts restructuring by consolidating Court through electronic filing and an integrated agencies into a single Office of Judicial The Court combined Continuing Legal case management system. Each week Administration under the leadership of Education and the Board of Law Examiners 100,000 documents are electronically filed, Chief Administrative Officer Mary Willis. into the highly effective Office of Admissions and 71% of all new cases are in one case and Continuing Education, celebrating 30 management system, with the goal of the Chief Financial Officer Aaron Hood serves years of legal education for Indiana’s 20,000 entire state to be electronically filing within as a single point of contact for all fiscal practicing lawyers and judges. matters. The Indianapolis Business Journal the next year. recently honored him as a top government Cass County Judge Rick Maughmer led CFO. an in-depth study of judicial resources, CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE courttimes SPRING 2018 3 CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Photos by Patrick McCauley Trial court judges, guests, and Supreme Court staff fill the House Chamber gallery during the State of the Judiciary address. A Wiser Judicial Branch Indiana’s judicial branch is staying ahead of Court data sharing efforts include: the challenges faced through commitment to rigorous education and training programs • Tracking 7,000 new for judges and their staffs. adult guardianships; Training initiatives have been led by Jane • Reporting 11,000 mental- Seigel, who is retiring after 20 years of health adjudications to the FBI; service. In this past year alone, training sessions were presented on criminal • Submitting 900,000 protection justice reform, increased needs of our elderly, technology, civil justice reform, orders to the registry; commercial courts, substance abuse • Giving policymakers an analysis treatment, racial bias, juvenile justice, child welfare, domestic violence, bail reform, of nearly 300,000 felony cases problem-solving courts, and more. to help guide criminal code reform; and Well-trained Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASAs, are more crucial than Retiring Indiana Office of Court Services • Providing the Department of ever. In 2017, the CASA program served Executive Director Jane Seigel receives a the second-highest number of children in standing ovation from guests and state leaders Education with 40,000 cases so during the 2018 State of the Judiciary address. the country—26,000 children. they are aware of convictions that would disqualify a person Problem-solving courts increased by 10% Meeting the Justices from teaching children. in the past year with 87 currently and 15 more being developed. These courts require In fiscal year 2017, the Court reviewed pioneering judges, supportive communities, 885 cases, issued 73 majority opinions, and tremendous training resources that are and held 59 oral arguments. Traveling crucial for addressing the drug crisis. arguments took place at Gary Roosevelt Pharmacies also use Indiana criminal data High School and the University of Southern to prevent the sale of medicines used to In Grant County, Judge Dana Kenworthy Indiana in Evansville. The Indiana Court of make methamphetamine. The 42,700 established the specialized Family Appeals recently held their 500th traveling people named in the system will not be Recovery Court to include not just the argument—a milestone worth celebrating. able to buy the meth precursors to cook addicted, but also their children—the and sell more drugs. hidden victims of this drug crisis. 4 SPRING 2018 courttimes In 1995, Slaughter was recruited back to Indiana by the Attorney General’s Office to help oversee the state’s antitrust- enforcement efforts and to prosecute the state’s claims against the tobacco industry. With his work complete at the AG’s office in 2001, he began a 15-year career at an Indianapolis private law firm litigating disputes including environmental, antitrust, securities fraud, commercial, and constitutional cases. Justice Christopher Goff Justice Christopher Goff joined the Court in July after having served as Wabash County Superior Court Judge for 12 years. His legal practice involved ordinary clients with everyday legal issues including domestic relations, criminal matters, wills, Associate Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court greet legislators upon entering the House Chamber. estates, and small business needs. As Judge, he was instrumental in “We’re relatively new—especially compared Justice Mark Massa implementing three certified problem- to the 11-year span when there was no Justice Mark Massa began working in solving courts, and he led the Protection change in Court membership. You might call the State House as a speechwriter for Order Committee. Justice Goff is devoting that the ‘Fab Five’ era of Justices Shepard, Governor Robert Orr. He attended law time to the Public Defender’s Task Force Dickson, Sullivan, Boehm, and Rucker. But school in the evenings and earned a and is leading our Problem-Solving Courts your new Court brings a combined 150 years clerkship with Chief Justice Randall Committee. of legal and judicial experience. Our greatest Shepard. strength is our collective decision-making Goff inspired many at his robing ceremony: ability,” Rush stated during her address prior Massa’s legal career continued for 15 “Today we are gathered to celebrate to introducing each of her colleagues on the years as a state and federal prosecutor. the fact that someone born to teenage bench. He helped establish Marion County’s parents, married to the daughter of first drug court in 1998, and worked on migrant workers, and from a remote part Justice Steven David counterterrorism efforts as an Assistant of the state has been selected to serve Justice Steven David, native Hoosier and a United States Attorney.