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Indiana Lawyer on June 12, 2017 by Olivia Covington
Describing himself as a constitutional originalist and textualist, Goff said his judicial philosophy is rooted in the doctrine of judicial restraint. Though he, at 45, will be the youngest person on the bench by roughly a decade, Holcomb said Goff has a “profound respect for the Constitu
WBIW.com on 6/21/2017
(BEDFORD) – Officials and community members honored a 17-year-old female who has worked hard to graduate Lawrence County Juvenile Problem Solving Court.
This young lady, known as S.T. to protect her identity, successfully completed the intensive requirements of the problem solving court in which she has been a participant for approximately fourteen months.
The Lawrence County Juvenile Problem Solving Court is a program under the auspices of the Lawrence Circuit Court, Juvenile Division and is the most intensive and most structured of the rehabilitative services available to juvenile offenders in Lawrence County without the Court removing the child from the community.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment,” says Juvenile Judge John Plummer III. “We open this ceremony to the public so they can get a glimpse of how the court works. This is for the kids that need us the most…they put themselves in situations where they made bad decisions.”
The Court appreciates community support for the troubled children of Lawrence County with whom it deals daily, and encourages the invitees’ attendance at graduation to observe a rare glimpse into the usually-confidential juvenile court proceedings, and to support the young lady who has successfully completed the rigorous requirements of the court.
This is the 12th graduation since the court began in 2011.
“More than 40 juveniles have entered the program, but many did not make it. This is a testimony to S.T.’s hard work,” Judge Plummer added.
There are three core principals – honesty, respect – hard work. The program has three phases, each lasing between 2 to 8 months depending on the circumstances and the youth’s progress.
Once the juvenile completes the program they are taken off probation and their criminal record is expunged. Continue reading →
The Indiana Lawyer on June 14, 2017 by Dave Stafford
Indiana’s restructured Office of Judicial Administration will get new digs at a lower cost later this year, officials said.
The agencies of the Indiana Supreme Court that oversee state court functions will move from current rented space in the Kite Realty Group Building at 30 S. Meridian St. in downtown Indianapolis to the Capital Center South Tower at 201 N. Illinois St. “We are saving money moving, and this puts us closer to the Statehouse,” said Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathryn Dolan.
“We were nearing the end of our 10-year lease with 30 South, and that prompted us to explore our options going forward,” said Office of Judicial Administration Chief Administrative Officer Mary Willis. “We consider it a very nice location for us for the next 10 years.”
Court staff will begin moving into the new offices in mid-December, and the transition is expected to be completed no later than early January. A lease at Capital Center was signed earlier this year.
The new location is only about a block-and-a-half from the Statehouse, compared with the current space that’s about three blocks away. The roughly 185 workers moving to the new location, though, will lose the wintertime luxury they now have of an indoor or underground walk connecting administrative offices with the Capitol complex.
Indianapolis Star on 6/5/17 by Marisa Kwiatkowski
Indiana has launched a registry that includes the names of people convicted of child abuse or neglect.
Legislators passed Senate Enrolled Act 357, also known as Kirk’s Law, last year after the death of 19-month-old Kirk Coleman, who prosecutors say died in the care of a provider with a previous record of child abuse.
Read more:
10 Indiana child deaths that could have been prevented
Judge questions DCS workers about paralyzed girl’s gruesome death
“This bill provides parents a way to make sure the person they have chosen to take care of their child has not been convicted of child abuse,” former Gov. Mike Pence said last year in a statement. “It is my hope that this child abuse registry will become a resource to help ensure that no child is left with someone who may harm them.”
The registry lists the name, age, last known city of residence, other identifying information and a description of the crime for which the individual was convicted.
It includes those who have been convicted since July 1, 2012, of neglect of a dependent, child selling, battery against a child, and all sex offenses. It does not include information on cases that were expunged or sealed.
Explore the registry here: https://public.courts.in.gov/CAR#/.
The Indiana Lawyer on 06/15/2017
An administrator with the Marion County Public Defender Agency has been named the first director of re-entry for the city of Indianapolis’ Office of Health and Public Safety.
Brooke Daunhauer, currently social service administrator with the public defender agency, will fill the new position, Mayor Joe Hogsett announced Thursday. Daunhauer will work to connect those re-entering the community following incarceration with service providers and promote public-private partnerships to fill gaps in services to foster successful reintegration within the community.
“As an advocate for those re-entering our community, Brooke understands both the systemic and personal challenges one must overcome to navigate Marion County’s criminal justice system,” Hogsett said in a statement. “Engaging directly with stakeholders and community partners, Brooke’s creative approach to problem solving and collaborative work ethic will be assets in our effort to design a criminal justice system that is compassionate and truly just.”
Daunhaur has been involved in the Marion County Re-Entry Coalition and in justice system redesign efforts, the statement said.
The announcement comes as Indianapolis is in the planning stages of a new jail, courts and criminal justice complex in the Twin Aire neighborhood that will emphasize assessment of arrestees for mental health and substance abuse issues. The appointment also comes after Wednesday’s announcement that the DOC’s Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational Facility on the near-east side will close by July 31.
Kokomo Perspective on 06-06-2017 by Devin Zimmerman
Aside from law enforcement, perhaps the front line to fighting the drug epidemic in Howard County is housed in the basement of the local courthouse.
Every day the Howard County Probation Department deals with individuals in the throes of addiction, an issue that is taking lives at an accelerated rate locally this year. As such, the department is attempting to help with the issue, expanding its focus outside of the doors of the facility with its crowd-drawing Addiction Impact Panel. But within the courthouse, the dangers of addiction were recently on full display.
Just after the courthouse staff unlocked the front doors on Friday, April 28, to the building at 8 a.m., a woman who will remain unidentified made her way downstairs to the probation department. In a security video procured by the Kokomo Perspective, the woman can be seen twitching as she approached the probation department’s front windows, which opened into an entrance to probation department offices.
After a short period of time, Probation Officer Holly Becker made her way out to assist the woman. Then, while Becker spoke to her, the woman’s body gave out, and she convulsed as Becker caught her. The woman, it turned out, overdosed just feet from the probation department.
Read more and see the video here.
It’s time for the annual POPAI Elections.
Up for election in 2017:
POPAI District 2 Representative Steve Keele is serving as the Election Committee Chair.
The Intent to Run form must be sent to Steve by July 7, 2017 (postmarked, emailed or faxed). By August 7, 2017, Steve will send out the election slate to the POPAI membership.
The election will be held during the POPAI Annual Meeting Thursday September 7, 2017 at the French Lick Springs Hotel.
Watch the POPAI web site for more details. Questions? Contact Steve at (260) 449-4146 or steve.keele@co.allen.in.us.
We hope to see you all at the 2017 POPAI Annual Meeting in French Lick.
