« Ind. Decisions - More on "Record-Setting Zyprexa Settlement Could Come Tomorrow" | Main | Ind. Decisions - COA upholds sentencing in 2007 murder, feticide »
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ind. Courts - A report on yesterday's annual State of the Judiciary address
See yesterday's ILB entry for links to the video and text. Today Eric Bradner of the Evansville Couirer & Press has a long story that includes:
Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard said the fallout of the economic downturn shows in the state's courts, and he described steps the state's judicial branch is taking to do more with less.During his annual State of the Judiciary speech Wednesday, Shepard, who has been chief justice for 22 years, said the judiciary has approached the recession as an opportunity to streamline and cut costs while providing more efficient services.
"The courtroom was thought of as a place of relative detachment from the hubbub in the rest of life," Shepard told a joint session of the Legislature. "In fact, the work courts do is intimately connected to all of society." * * *
Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, an attorney and former Posey County prosecutor, called Shepard's speech timely.
"I was intrigued by the approach he took this year in terms of addressing how courts are impacted by changes in the economy — just like families, just like a Legislature, just like governors are — in terms of the approach they have to take to their jobs," Van Haaften said.
In the past, Shepard has used his State of the Judiciary speech as an opportunity to spell out new proposals for the state's court system. This year was a significant departure.
"He didn't really pitch any new ideas," Van Haaften said. "I think it was more of a situation of recognizing that as a government, we have to batten down the hatches, if you will."
Rep. Ralph Foley, R-Martinsville, an attorney and former deputy prosecutor, echoed those sentiments after Shepard's speech.
"Under this chief justice, the judiciary has always been responsive and proactive to meeting the issues of the day," Foley said.
Foley noted how far-reaching the recession's effects have become and said evidence of the economic downturn is clear in the courtroom.
"We are seeing defendants who never, never would have been likely to commit crime. We are seeing the impact on marriages and the stress that pulls them apart and having to find out how to provide for the children of those marriages. We are seeing it in the rise of bankruptcy, the loss of a home, the loss of a job and the difficulties of foreclosure," Foley said. "And the judiciary is responding the best way that they can."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 15, 2009 09:45 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts