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Saturday, September 12, 2009

Ind. Courts - "Clark Circuit Court to hold night sessions"

Chris Quay has this report in the Louisville Courier Journal. Some quotes:

For the first time, Clark Circuit Court will offer night sessions with the hope of providing better case service and scheduling options for lawyers who use the court and people who have difficulty getting there during regular daytime hours.
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Night court sessions will begin Sept. 22 and will continue weekly on Tuesdays from 5 to 7:30 p.m. through the end of the year. The sessions will undergo evaluations during that time to determine whether they should continue into next year, said Circuit Judge Daniel Moore.

“I think this is consistent with the theme of changes in the court system,” Moore said. “Judges have taken some significant steps to make the system more effective. This is another step.”

Moore, who introduced the idea, said among the factors to be considered in determining whether night sessions will go past December is the high number of people on probation. Night sessions could be used to help lighten the number of those hearings that take up time during regular sessions, he said.

“We run out of time during the day a lot,” he said.

The extra hours also should help with the number of criminal cases that the court handles, Moore said.

Mondays and Tuesdays are set aside now for criminal case dockets, and at times the sheriff’s office has to escort five or six prisoners to appear in court while other cases are being conducted. That creates a potentially dangerous environment, Moore said, and moving some cases to the evening could help make the courthouse safer.

Cases dealing with initial hearings, motions, civil and criminal discovery disputes and some family cases and estate matters will make up the majority of night sessions, Moore said.

He also said individuals who post bail in a timely fashion will be handled differently. Initial hearings for those cases will be scheduled for the following Tuesday evening, whereas normally the court dates would be set for Monday or Tuesday afternoon

“We fully support Judge Moore’s efforts to expand court hours,” said Jeremy Mull, Clark County’s chief deputy prosecutor. “Anything that judges can do to expedite the system, we support.”

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 12, 2009 11:24 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts