Authorization Required: Restricting Access to Criminal History Information
October 31, 2011 by James R. Walker
The Indiana General Assembly passed Public Law 194-2011 (HEA 1211) earlier this year allowing individuals to petition courts to restrict access to certain criminal records. This law creates two new proceedings by amending Indiana Code Title 35, Criminal Law and Procedure, Article 38, Proceedings Following Dismissal, Verdict or Finding. It allows a person [...]
Jefferson County Courthouse Rededicated Two Years after Three-Alarm Fire
October 31, 2011 by Elizabeth Daulton
On a sunny day in downtown Madison, just two years after a fire nearly destroyed the historic Jefferson County Courthouse, a group of dignitaries, veterans, first responders, media, and local residents gathered to witness the courthouse rededication ceremony.
“The courthouse has been restored to its rightful place as the center of law and government,” remarked Jefferson [...]
Supreme Court and State Archives Working to Preserve Historic Indiana Cases
October 31, 2011 by Caitlin O'Rourke
A collaborative effort between the State Archives Division of the Indiana Commission on Public Records and the Indiana Supreme Court has resulted in the cleaning, preservation, cataloging and posting in a database on the Internet, of approximately 31,000 Indiana Supreme Court cases dating from 1791 to 1878. Ultimately, this project will encompass every decided [...]
Indiana Journalists Learn About the Courts
October 31, 2011 by Kathryn Dolan
The Indiana Supreme Court conducted its third annual Law School for Journalists on July 20th. Forty-five television, radio, newspaper and Internet journalists attended the one day “law school” that was held at the Indiana University School of Law–Indianapolis.
Randall T. Shepard, Chief Justice of Indiana, welcomed the journalists with remarks regarding the Indiana Supreme Court [...]
Judgment Docket Task Force
October 31, 2011 by Jeffrey Wiese
A high profile working group has been formed to review the laws and rules involving one of the most critical records in Indiana’s judicial system—the judgment docket. The judgment docket serves as notice to all interested parties that a judgment exists and is a lien on the real property of the defendant.
The use of [...]
Long-Awaited Changes to Clerk of Courts Website Are Finally Coming
October 31, 2011 by Kevin S. Smith
Attorneys, as well as members of the media the general public, use the Clerk of Courts website (courts.IN.gov/cofc) for various reasons, such as online annual attorney registration and fee payments, looking up an attorney on the Roll of Attorneys, and reviewing the dockets in Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Tax Court cases.
While useful when [...]
Dual State Court Security Training
October 31, 2011 by Trevor Moore
An Opportunity for Sharing Best Practices
Judges and court staff from Grant, Hamilton, Jasper, Marion and Morgan counties participated in a two-day court security training session on June 14 and 15, 2011 connected via video conference to teams of their counterparts in the Maryland courts. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the State Justice [...]
Reporting Security Incidents
October 31, 2011 by Editor
Every day Indiana’s courts resolve disputes, sentence criminals, assess fines, grant divorces, order custody and visitation, and order the payment of money from one party to another. The inherently contentious nature of the matters that come before our courts sometimes give rise to situations that threaten courthouse security. The development of effective policies [...]
A New Process for Withdrawing Jurisdiction Due to Delay in Ruling
October 31, 2011 by Tom Carusillo
Beginning January 1, 2012, the procedure by which the submission of a case is withdrawn from a judge under Trial Rules 53.1 and 53.2 will change. Currently, after a party files a motion to withdraw with the clerk of the court where the case is pending and recorded in the clerk’s praecipe book, the clerk [...]
2011 Legislative Review
August 16, 2011 by Mike McMahon , Diane Mains
Editor’s Note: This report is a condensed version of the full report prepared by Diane Mains and Mike McMahon of the Indiana Judicial Center.
The Indiana Judicial Center has prepared a legislative report that contains summaries of select bills of interest passed in the 2011 session and can be can be found at:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/reports/2011/DIGEST_OF_ENACTMENTS.PDF
The entire text [...]

