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Sunday, July 18, 2004
Indiana Courts - Sarah Evans Barker's First 20 Years on the Federal Bench
The Sunday Indianapolis Star has a front-page, above-the-fold story marking Federal District Court Judge Sarah Evan Barker's first 20 years on the federal bench, titled "With Honor and Justice." Some quotes:
Sarah Evans Barker says being a judge is knowing where to draw the line. Last week, she showed she's a master at making people toe it.After threatening sanctions against local government if decades of overcrowding at the Marion County Jail persisted, the U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday eased the pressure after her message spurred meaningful reform.
But in true Barker fashion, she didn't throw away the stick -- the pending lawsuit challenging jail conditions.
She merely laid it aside for now.
In the 20 years since becoming Indiana's first female federal judge, Barker has presided over some of the state's biggest cases in her inimitable style.
When assigned the task of presiding over the multidistrict Bridgestone/Firestone tire recall litigation, she served notice at the outset that things were going to move forward in the complex case.
"I was thinking of the old Bette Davis line: 'If you want to get something done, give it to a couple of old broads,' " Barker quipped to lawyers, referring to herself and U.S. Magistrate Judge V. Sue Shields. "And let me tell you, these old broads are going to get this done."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 18, 2004 06:18 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts