« Environment - Reverse the blanket exemption from nuisance liability for CAFOs | Main | Ind. Decisions - Transfers granted table updated »
Monday, January 15, 2007
Ind. Courts - MASH approach relied on for heavy court calls in Porter County
The NWI Times' Bob Kasarda has a report today on the Porter Courts' approach to workloads. The story begins:
VALPARAISO | Porter Superior Court Judge David Chidester said his and the other two county division courtrooms have been compared to military MASH units."Get them in, patch them up and get them out," he said.
While he attempts to give each defendant individualized attention and is confident each receives justice, Chidester and judges Jeffrey Thode and Julia Jent in Portage are assigned a disproportionately large number of cases each year.
The three courts were assigned 31,922 new cases last year, compared with 7,599 cases assigned to the superior division courts of judges Roger Bradford, Bill Alexa and Mary Harper, according to year-end statistics compiled by the county.
The county courts disposed of 29,246 new and existing cases during the year, which once again topped the 6,927 cases disposed of by the superior division courts.
These statistics, however, only tell part of the story.
The cases assigned to the superior division courts are generally higher level offenses, which require more court time, Bradford said. The state assigns a certain number of minutes for each type of case and based on that formula, the caseload is distributed pretty evenly among the county's six judges and three magistrates, he said.
The superior division courts handle all C felony cases and more serious crimes plus D felonies other than driving violations and major civil suits, he said.
The county division courts are assigned small claims cases, misdemeanor cases and D felony cases involving driving violations and traffic infractions, Bradford said.
Traffic infractions accounted for 20,153 of the 31,922 new cases last year at the county division level, according to the annual statistics.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 15, 2007 10:49 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts