Former Chief Justice Shepard receives ABA Marshall Award
The American Bar Association presented the prestigious 2015 John Marshall Award to former Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard. He was the longest-serving chief justice of the Supreme Court of Indiana, and is the recipient of the award named for the longest-serving chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The ABA established the John Marshall Award in 2001 to recognize individuals who have made a positive national impact on the justice system. Past recipients include Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the late former U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin of Alabama, and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. Shepard was honored on July 31 at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
Shepard’s many honors and activities include serving as chair of the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, receiving the Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence, being elected president of the Conference of Chief Justices, and chairing the ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education.
Shepard grew up in Evansville. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University, received his law degree from the Yale Law School in 1972 (where he has also taught), and earned an LL.M. from the University of Virginia. After nonlegal public service positions and service as a local and county judge, Shepard was named Indiana’s 99th Supreme Court justice in 1985. He became chief justice two years later. He served until he announced his retirement on March 23, 2012.
Judge Altice joins Court of Appeals
Chief Justice of Indiana Loretta H. Rush administered the oath of office to the newest member of the Court of Appeals of Indiana, Judge Robert R. Altice, Jr. Judge Altice took the oath in a private ceremony in the Court of Appeals courtroom. He was accompanied by his wife, Kristin, and spoke briefly afterward to his new colleagues and staff.
Judge Altice had served as judge of Marion Superior Court since January 2001. He was appointed in July by Gov. Mike Pence to succeed retiring Court of Appeals Judge Ezra H. Friedlander. The governor chose Judge Altice from among three candidates recommended by the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission.
Children’s Commission releases annual report
The annual report for the Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana is now available online at www.in.gov/children
The 35-page report is a window into the collaborative work being done across all three branches of Indiana government to improve the lives of Hoosier children—especially the most vulnerable. The report was developed by the 18-member Commission.
The report concentrates on access to and availability of mental health and substance abuse services; information sharing; promoting best practices, policies and programs; and obtaining information from agencies and experts.
The report also includes extensive information about its work:
- Meeting summaries and links to materials and webcasts for each session
- Detailed information about the Commission’s 6 Task Forces: Child Services Oversight Committee, Cross-System Youth Task Force, Data Sharing and Mapping Task Force, Educational Outcomes Task Force, Infant Mortality and Child Health Task Force, Substance Abuse and Child Safety Task Force
- Announcement of the Cross-System Youth Symposium on July 24, 2015 where each Indiana county was invited to send teams from DCS, law enforcement or probation, mental health, schools and the judiciary to learn best practices for a coordinated response to helping Indiana’s most troubled youth
Established by Governor Pence in August 2013, the Commission on Improving the Status of Children is a multi-branch statewide Commission. Its aim is to improve the status of children in Indiana. In cooperation with other entities, the Commission studies issues concerning vulnerable youth; reviews and makes recommendations concerning pending legislation; and promotes information sharing and best practices. The Commission’s first annual report was released in 2014 and can be found on the Commission website.
NACM announces 2015 Top 10 Court Websites Award:
Indiana Supreme Court, Division of State Court Administration honored
The National Association for Court Management presented this year’s Top 10 Court Websites Award during the organization’s annual conference in Louisville, KY, on July 16. The awards are given each year to courts that make the best use of web technology to improve court services and access to public records.
The 2015 winners and their respective web sites are:
- Texas Office of Court Administration; txcourts.gov
- Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida; ninthcircuit.org
- Ohio Court of Claims; cco.state.oh.us
- Summit County Clerk of Courts; cpclerk.co.summit.oh.us
- U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims; uscourts.cavc.gov
- Las Vegas Township Justice Court; lasvegasjusticecourt.us
- Indiana Supreme Court, Division of State Court Administration; courts.in.gov
- Unified Judicial System, South Dakota; ujs.sd.us
- Gwinnett County Clerk of Courts; gwinnettcourts.com
- City of Lenexa Municipal Court; lenexa.com/courts