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Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Ind. Decisions - Judge denies Indianapolis' move for preliminary injunction in juvenile jail costs suit

The Indianapolis Star reports this morning, in a front page story by Brendan O'Shaughnessy, that:

Shelby Superior Court Judge Russell Sanders dismissed the city's request for a preliminary injunction, saying the county does not have a "reasonable likelihood of success" in its bid to get the state to pick up all of the cost of incarcerating juveniles. * * *

"This was a battle, not the war," said Tenley Drescher-Rhoades, a lawyer for the city. "Our two main legal options are an appeal of the injunction decision or to proceed with the case."
In recent years, the Indiana Department of Correction's juvenile charges have become the county's largest unpaid expense. County officials simply ignored the bills because they said it was the state's responsibility.

For background, see this 9/19/05 ILB entry. See also this 8/27/05 Fort Wayne Journal Gazette story, that reported:
At least 34 Indiana counties owe a total of nearly $90 million under a new state law that requires county governments to help pay the cost of imprisoning youths from their county. * * *

Allen County this month approved a plan to repay its $8 million debt but said that plan could be altered depending on the result of Marion County’s lawsuit. The county’s repayment plan would take an estimated 16 years to fully repay the debt, giving the county time to accrue interest and await the legal result. Allen County officials said there was no point in joining the lawsuit efforts, as it would only add legal fees.

Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, has the largest debt at about $62 million. Its lawsuit asks for that debt to be forgiven along with seeking a refund for $50 million in payments the county has made since 1995.

State law requires counties to share in the cost of housing juvenile inmates from their areas. Local officials, however, have said the law is unconstitutional as they have little control over how many children are sent to state facilities by juvenile court judges or how much the Department of Correction spends on them after they arrive. The state pays the entire costs for holding adult inmates in the prison system. * * *

State lawmakers approved a new law this year that required counties to either pay the detention center bills or face a reduction in state property tax relief payments. * * *

“The taxpayers are being doubled dipped,” Councilman Mike Scott said. “A certain portion of our state taxes that is collected out of our checks is already going toward the Department of Correction to help take care of issues such as this.”

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 28, 2005 06:51 AM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions