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Beginning January 1, 2012, the procedure by which the submission of a case is withdrawn from a judge under Trial Rules 53.1 and 53.2 will change.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 [...]
Things to Know about Case Types and Court Information
August 16, 2011 by Lilia G. Judson
1 Look for the new Case Type Quick Reference Guide.
There is now a quick and easy tool that court and clerk staff can use to find out what case type they should assign to unusual proceedings. Detailed instructions about how cases should be designated and counted are part of the statistical reporting system and [...]
Susan Carpenter Retires as State Public Defender
August 16, 2011 by Kathryn Dolan
After serving as the Public Defender of Indiana for nearly 30 years, Susan K. Carpenter retired in May. The Indiana Supreme Court appointed Ms. Carpenter to the position in 1981. When announcing Carpenter’s retirement, Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard praised her three-decade career and said, “As chief advocate for the rights of indigent [...]
State Public Defender Uses Videoconferencing to Reduce Costs and Improve Services
August 16, 2011 by Kathryn Dolan
Videoconferencing equipment was installed at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle in partnership with the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) and the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT). The equipment resembles a pay phone and is designed specifically for correctional use. It features a video screen and camera (similar to a web cam) [...]
Where there’s smoke, there’s… water?
August 16, 2011 by Thomas Q. Jones
Thanks to the quick and knowledgeable responses by Tippecanoe Clerk Christa Coffey and her staff, no records of permanent value were lost as a result of a fire in the courthouse annex. The fire—deemed “suspicious” by the Lafayette Fire Department—occurred in the overnight hours of May 3rd and May 4th. Clerk’s office staff [...]
Helpful Resources for Courts Drowning in Domestic Relations Cases
August 16, 2011 by Loretta Oleksy
Judges with domestic relations jurisdiction are well aware of the time and resources required to manage family law caseloads, particularly the ever-increasing numbers of cases in which the parties appear without lawyers. This article discusses some resources which are available to help courts manage domestic relations caseload and improve outcomes for litigants.
Since 2003, courts [...]
