Left to Right: Hon. Steven Nation; Lilia Judson; Dr. Rich Hogue; Hon. Mary Harper; and Hon. Steven David.

The first of its kind Summit on School-Justice Partnerships took place in New Your City on March 11-13, 2012. It was convened by former New York Chief Justice Judith S. Kaye and organized by the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children. Supreme Court Justice Steven David, Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper, Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation, Dr. Rich Hogue, Assistant Superintendent for Learning with the Indiana Department of Education, and Lilia Judson, Executive Director of the Division of State Court Administration, made up Indiana’s team. The Summit brought together court and school leaders from 45 states and three territories, and offered 38 presentations and opportunities for state teams to plan for ways to keep children in school and out of the juvenile justice system.

The goal of the Summit was to promote team collaboration on cross-systems services that would prevent children’s involvement in the justice system in the first instance and—for children who do get involved—provide off ramps from successive, worsening encounters. The Summit showcased a growing body of research and evidence-based alternatives that indicate suspensions and expulsions are not effective in improving student behavior and are significantly associated with drop out and involvement in the juvenile and criminal justice system. The data presented indicates that kids disconnected from their familiar school environments (whether by suspension, expulsion, arrest, or dropping out) are at much greater risk of following a path to crime and prison. Effective school-justice partnership efforts can go a long way to help children stay in school and out of the path to incarceration. Indiana’s team discussed ways the Department of Education and juvenile courts could improve communications, improve ways to share information and initiate cross training.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels named Justice Massa to succeed Chief Justice Shepard who retired from the Court. Justice Massa served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Shepard from 1991-1993. Shepard congratulated his successor and said, “I know the Supreme Court Justices, Agency Directors and staff warmly welcome Mark Massa to the Court.”

Justice Massa pointed to Shepard’s valuable leadership as a reason his appointment to the Court is so meaningful. “What an incredible honor to be joining this Court. Under the Chief Justice’s guidance, it has become one of the leading state courts in the nation, and I’m humbled to be a part of it.”

In February, the Judicial Nominating Commission held two rounds of public interviews of the fifteen applicants for the position and voted to send Mr. (now Justice) Mark Massa, the Hon. Cale Bradford and Ms. Jane Seigel to the Governor as finalists. Governor Daniels selected Massa as Indiana’s 107th justice. The Commission will select the next Chief Justice from among the five justices on the Court.

See photos of Justice Massa’s private swearing-in on Flickr

The newly created position of Domestic Violence Resource Attorney will provide technical assistance to judicial officers and court staff, develop training and written materials for judicial officers, promote communication among courts on best practices, and provide assistance and support to local courts interested in developing domestic violence programs.

In addition to working with judges, the Domestic Violence Resource Attorney will also reach out to both governmental and non-governmental agencies to promote interagency collaboration to address responses to domestic violence. One of our top priorities over the past year has been our partnership with the Indiana Judicial Center and the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence to develop a six-hour training entitled How Family Violence Impacts You and Your Courts. The training debuted at the Spring Judicial Conference in April, and it will be repeated at three regional locations in October. The tentatively scheduled dates and locations are:

• Friday, October 12, at the Inn at DePauw (formerly Walden Inn), Greencastle, IN
• Friday, October 19, at Springmill Inn, Mitchell, IN
• Friday, October 26, at Swan Lake Resort, Plymouth, IN

For more information, please contact Domestic Violence Resource Attorney Loretta Oleksy at (317) 233.0784 or loretta.oleksy@courts.in.gov.

Judge Susan Orr Henderson, Fountain County Circuit Court, has been selected by the Greater Lafayette YWCA as a “Woman of Distinction” for 2012. She was recognized at an award ceremony held on March 6, 2012 for her selfless commitment to community service and her willingness to meaningfully participate when asked and by showing what community involvement and leadership can accomplish.

State Court Administration Director of Appellate Court Technology Selected to National Board

Bob Rath, Director of Appellate Court Technology for the Indiana Supreme Court, Division of State Court Administration, has been selected to serve on the Board of the Court Information Technology Officers Consortium (CITOC), which is an arm of the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) and is affiliated with the National Center for State Courts. It is an organization comprised of court chief information officers from around the country to assist Judicial Branch leaders in resolving business and technology problems.

Charles M. Kidd Named Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission Deputy Executive Secretary

Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission Executive Director, G. Michael Witte appointed Charles M. Kidd as Deputy Executive Director. Mr. Kidd was a Staff Attorney at the Commission from April 1991 until his appointment as Deputy last November. He also served as an Indiana Deputy Attorney General. He received his undergraduate degree from Butler University and his law degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He serves as Chair of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Lawyer Advertising Rules Review Committee. Kidd is also a Former Master member of the Sagamore American Inn of Court. He is the author of numerous continuing legal education works.

Judge Melissa S. May of the Court of Appeals of Indiana has received the Indiana State Bar Association’s Women in the Law Recognition Award for her dedication to helping women advance in the legal community.

Judge May received the award Oct. 20 at the ISBA’s annual meeting in French Lick.

Judge May is an Elkhart native who earned her JD from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis in 1984. She practiced law in Evansville for 14 years before her appointment to the Court of Appeals in 1998. She is currently the Presiding Judge of the Fourth District.

State Court Administration Staffers Selected to National Boards

Two Indiana Supreme Court staff members have been selected to serve on national boards. Judicial Qualifications Commission Attorney, Adrienne Meiring, will serve on the Board for the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel (AJDC). Supreme Court Public Information Officer, Kathryn Dolan, will serve as Treasurer for the Conference of Court Public Information Officers (CCPIO).

Jan Aikman Dickson Joins Warren E. Burger Society

Jan Aikman Dickson, founder of the Judicial Family Institute, was inducted into the Warren E. Burger Society during the National Center for State Courts’ (NCSC) Annual Recognition Luncheon on Friday, November 18.

Membership in the Warren E. Burger Society honors individuals who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving the administration of justice through their contributions of service or support to NCSC. The society is named for the former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who helped found the National Center in 1971.

Mrs. Dickson helped found the Judicial Family Institute (JFI) — a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to providing information and education to judicial households and the extended family members of judges — in 1987, shortly after her husband, Justice Brent E. Dickson, was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court. After encountering and hearing about the conflicts of interest that family members of judges often have in areas such as employment, politics, gifts, investments, and charitable fundraising, she saw the need for those family members to have access to information about judicial codes of conduct as well as managing other aspects of life in the public eye. With assistance from the Indiana Bar Foundation, judges and their spouses, and national organizations such as NCSC, Mrs. Dickson encouraged the development of educational materials and programs for the families of judges.

In recognition of her professional and personal accomplishments, Chief Judge Margret G. Robb of the Court of Appeals of Indiana was awarded the 2011 Antoinette Dakin Leach Award by the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Women and the Law Division on October 5, 2011 at its “Women, Law & Leadership Symposium.” The award was established to honor outstanding women in the legal profession and is named for one of the first female lawyers in Indiana. The Antoinette Dakin Leach Award is presented only when the Division deems a worthy candidate exists.

Fairbanks Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana presented the Richard M. Fairbanks Circle of Hope Award to Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard. The award honors individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions related to addiction research, education or treatment. The Chief Justice was specifically cited for the creation of drug courts and the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP).

Phyllisia Gant

The Division of State Court Administration is pleased to welcome Phyllisia Gant as the new Coordinator and staff attorney for the Indiana Conference of Legal Education Opportunity (ICLEO), one of the programs administered by the Division.

Immediately prior to joining the Division staff, Phyllisia was an attorney with the Marion County Public Defender’s office where she represented parents in child in need of services (CHINS) and termination of parental rights (TPR) cases. While in law school, Phyllisia worked with the Hudson & Holland Scholars program at IU—Bloomington assisting minority students to reach high scholastic performance goals. Phyllisia graduated from Howard University summa cum laude and from IU Maurer School of Law.

Experienced Attorneys to Lead Board of Law Examiners and State Public Defender’s Office

The Indiana Supreme Court named two accomplished attorneys as agency directors. Bradley W. Skolnik will serve as the State Board of Law Examiners Executive Director and Stephen T. Owens will become the State Public Defender. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard made the announcement describing both attorneys “as committed and capable public servants.”

Bradley W. Skolnik

Board of Law Examiners Executive Director

Mr. Skolnik was a partner with the Indianapolis law firm of Stewart & Irwin, P.C., where he practices in the areas of securities regulation, financial services and general corporate litigation.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Skolnik worked as the Indiana Securities Commissioner in the Indiana Secretary of State’s office. He served as President of the North American Securities Administration Association and in that capacity testified before the U.S. House and Senate. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

State Public Defender

Stephen T. Owens

“Stephen Owens’ two decade career in the State Public Defender’s Office says it all,” explained Chief Justice Shepard. “His promotion comes after years of advocating for clients without means and helping run an office tasked with a huge responsibility—ensuring basic fairness.” Mr. Owens has been a Deputy State Public Defender since 1986.

As the Assistant Chief Deputy of Personnel in the office, Mr. Owens was the training coordinator for new attorneys. He also worked on preparation of the annual report and assisted with budget matters. He is a graduate of Illinois College and the University of Dayton.

Winning CASA Poster (click to enlarge)

Monroe County CASA Wins National Contest for Recruitment Poster Design

Monroe County CASA has won a national award for designing a volunteer recruitment poster and the chance to win at the People’s Choice judging at the annual CASA conference.

Monroe County CASA won the first-ever National CASA Association Communications Contest from a pool of more than 55 entries. The winning entry was part of the Volunteer category, one of three possible categories entries were judged upon.

CASA would like to thank Ryan Kegley, art director and designer, for his work with Monroe County CASA. His work highlights the mission of CASA by using a single, powerful image.

By participating in the Institute’s work, its distinguished members have the opportunity to influence the development of the law in both existing and emerging areas, to work with other eminent lawyers, judges, and academics, to give back to a profession to which they are deeply dedicated, and to contribute to the public good.

The Executive Committee is: Judge John Hanley, Presiding Judge, Judge David Certo, Judge Becky Pierson-Treacy and Judge Marc Rothenberg.

The new Criminal term chair is Judge Linda Brown. The new Civil term chair is Judge Ted Sosin.

State leaders attended a ceremony on December 17, 2010 honoring the service of Judge Thomas G. Fisher, Indiana’s first Tax Court Judge, who stepped down from the bench on January 16, 2011. The event allowed state officials, the legal community, and the public to show appreciation for Judge Fisher’s state service.

The ceremony included remarks from Governor Mitch Daniels’ counsel David L. Pippen, Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, Court of Appeals Chief Judge John Baker, Indiana bar associations, and former law clerks. Judge Fisher was appointed to the Indiana Tax Court by Governor Robert Orr in 1986. During his career on the bench, Judge Fisher decided approximately 800 cases. For each case there has been at least one court session and sometimes more.

He has served on the Judicial Advisory Board, Law and Organizational Economics Institute, University of Kansas, 1997-1999; the Earlham College Board of Trustees, 1995-2004; and the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Race & Gender Fairness. In April 2010, Judge Fisher was inducted into the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Academy of Alumni Law Fellows.

Judge Paul D. Mathias receives award for commitment to civic education in Indiana

Court of Appeals Judge Paul D. Mathias was recently recognized by the Indiana Bar Foundation for his longstanding commitment to civic education in Indiana. On December 12, 2010, Judge Mathias received the William G. Baker Award, honoring attorneys who show outstanding dedication to citizenship education. Judge Mathias was cited for his work with the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program at both the state level and in the Third Congressional District in northeast Indiana.

Judge Mathias has been involved with We the People since the program’s inception in 1987. Judge Mathias annually recruits many volunteer attorneys and civic leaders as judges for the Third Congressional District We the People competition, now the nation’s second largest.

To learn more about Judge Paul D. Mathias, please visit the Court of Appeals website at courts.in.gov/appeals/bios/mathias.html. For more information about the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, please visit the Indiana Bar Foundation’s website at www.inbf.org/we_the_people.

Lake County courthouse dedicated as the Robert D. Rucker Courthouse in Gary, Indiana

The Lake County Board of Commissioners held a ceremony on December 3, 2010 dedicating the Lake County Courthouse in Gary as the Robert D. Rucker Courthouse in honor of Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker who is a Gary native. The Lake County Commissioners voted in favor of naming the building at 15 W. 4th Avenue after Justice Rucker. The building houses a number of Lake County Superior Courts.

Commissioner Roosevelt Allen said they voted for him: “… in recognition of the distinguished, exemplary career of Justice Rucker. Black male role models such as President Obama and Justice Robert Rucker will inspire countless numbers of black males, both nationally and within our community, to aspire to greatness and help our nation to remain the pre-eminent country in the world.”

Justice Rucker was born in Georgia and grew up in Gary, Indiana and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He is a graduate of Indiana University (B.A. 1974) and Valparaiso University School of Law (J.D. 1976). In 1998, he earned a Master of Laws degree in the judicial process from the University of Virginia Law School.

Robert Rucker is the 105th Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Court by Governor Frank O’Bannon in 1999. Prior to his appointment to the Indiana Supreme Court, Justice Rucker served as a Judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals, having been appointed to that position in 1991 by Governor Evan Bayh.