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Friday, February 09, 2007
Ind. Courts - Reports on bills of interest to the Judiciary discussed this week
The Indiana Judicial Center has posted its reports on bills of interest to the Judiciary discussed this week. Access them here.
Included was this review of the Senate committee hearing on SB 279:
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard SB 279, dealing with the representation of judges in mandate litigation. This bill was authored by Sen. Boots, a former county councilmember in Montgomery County, where a mandate action is still pending. The bill would require the Attorney General to represent judges in judicial mandate cases, and the proponents of the bill testified that this would protect counties from unchecked attorney fees incurred by judges in these cases. There was also discussion about the use of these fees as an intimidation tactic. Judge Milligan, Montgomery Circuit Court, Judge Tom Felts, IJA Vice-President, and Court of Appeals Judge Paul Mathias, all testified in opposition to the bill stressing concerns about the independence of the judiciary and highlighting that there should be an even playing field in terms of fees and representation in these cases. Judges Mathias and Felts testified that if there is a problem, it should be dealt with through an amendment to T.R. 60.5. After much discussion, the bill passed out of the committee by a vote of 6-2; however, the majority of the members stated they were voting the bill out in order to keep the issue on the front burner while allowing the Court time to consider alternative solutions.See also this ILB entry from January 18th.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 9, 2007 05:20 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts