Reassessment. Following up on the Lake County reassessment ruling and resultant turmoil (see ILB entries here, here and here, for instance) is this story today in the Gary Post-Tribune, reporting that:
INDIANAPOLIS — The state Supreme Court moved quickly to hear the Miller Beach case. A day after Attorney General Steve Carter filed a motion asking high court to hear the case, the Supreme Court issued a ruling late Thursday telling both parties to file briefs by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. * * *The Munster Times reports here today:The Supreme Court limited to two briefs those opposing the attorney general’s petition. The court gave Pete the right to file a brief, but said no extensions would be allowed. Attorneys for the major industries were faxed copies of the order, as were attorneys for the cities of Hammond and East Chicago, which joined with the Miller residents.
The attorney general’s office had filed a motion Wednesday asking the Supreme Court to dissolve Pete’s injunction and instead decide whether Pete had jurisdiction to hear the case or whether the case should go through the state Tax Court.
The Indiana Supreme Court has stepped into Lake County's property tax crisis and may decide on the matter as early as next week.The case is State of Indiana ex rel. The Attorney General v. Lake County Superior Court (45-S-00-0405-OR-00204). The Attorney General filed a petition for writ of mandamus and prohibition on May 13th; the Supreme Court issued the following order on May 13th:A swift conclusion to the situation would help county agencies since the Indiana Bond Bank told all county public entities this week it cannot lend them anymore money -- an option the county, and many municipalities and school districts were counting on to tide them over until the property tax dispute was resolved.
THE COURT DETERMINES THAT THIS ORGINAL ACTION WARRANTS ADDITIONAL BRIEFING. ACCORDINGLY, THE HONORABLE ROBERT PETE, JUDGE OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT, AND ANY PARTY TO THE PROCEEDING BELOW WHO OPPOSES ISSUANCE OF THE WRIT REQUESTED BY RELATOR MAY FILE BRIEFS OPPOSING THE WRIT OR SUPPLEMENTAL RECORDS. IN ANY EVENT, THE COURT WILL ACCEPT NO MORE THAN A TOTAL OF TWO BRIEFS IN OPPOSITION TO THE PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS AND PROHIBITION. PARTIES ARE PERMITTED, HOWEVER, TO JOIN IN A CONSOLIDATED BRIEF. SUCH BRIEFS OR SUPPLEMENTAL RECORDS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO THE CLERK OF THIS COURT AND MUST BE PHYSICALLY ON FILE WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE AT OR BEFORE 4:30 P.M. ON TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2004. AFTER THE MATTER IS BRIEFED, THE COURT WILL TAKE IT UNDER ADVISEMENT. NO EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO FILE BRIEFS OR SUPPLEMENTAL RECORDS WILL BE GRANTED. RANDALL T. SHEPARD, CHIEF JUSTICE MSLake County vote fraud. This story today in the Gary Post-Tribune (remember, the Trib does not archive its stories) reports:
HAMMOND — Federal investigators showed signs that they are probing the 2003 East Chicago mayoral primary. FBI agents and state police detectives attached to the U.S. Attorney’s Public Corruption Task Force interviewed Byron Florence at the North Township Trustee’s Office on Wednesday in Hammond. Florence was one of the people who provided evidence of massive vote fraud to attorneys for former City Councilman George Pabey. Some of what he uncovered was used in Pabey’s court challenge of his narrow loss to Mayor Robert Pastrick in the 2003 Democratic primary. * * *The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the East Chicago vote fraud case in mid-April. See earlier Indiana Law Blog coverage here, here and here. Posted by Marcia Oddi at May 14, 2004 09:35 AMOver the past several years, federal agents have pulled boxes of documents from the office of the trustee and township assessors office in North Township, as part of several on-going investigations.
The state Supreme Court is expected to rule within weeks on whether to overturn the results of Pabey vs. Pastrick, based on information gathered at the trial level by Special Judge Steven King.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen had been reluctant to join the investigation until late last year, when he said his office will focus on whether any federal laws were violated.
Early this year, Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter and Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter launched their own probe into voter fraud in the 2003 election. The attorney general said Tuesday that he has been assured that any information that is gathered in the federal cases, but not used, would be forwarded to his office and Lake County prosecutors for their investigation.