A Constitution Powerful in its Simplicity, clear in its Mandate
On January 13, 2016, Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush delivered her second address on the condition of the courts to a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly.
Highlights of the speech follow. We also invite you to read the entire text, watch the video, and see photographs.
Constitutional Promise
Chief Justice Rush reported on the “condition of the courts” by reviewing the first Indiana Constitution. She noted that this document was powerful in its simplicity, and clear in its mandate: that justice be accomplished “speedily, and without delay.”
She reported that today our Indiana courts are responsible for an array of increasingly complex criminal, civil, family, and juvenile matters. And, Hoosiers are seeking the courts’ assistance to resolve many social issues that include substance abuse, family violence, and mental illness.
Our trial court judges are called to carry out the constitutional mission of protecting individual rights and liberties, upholding and interpreting the rules of law, and providing fair hearings—“without delay”—in every single case that comes before them, every single day. Last year alone, that meant 1,350,909 cases.
Progress from 2015
Chief Justice Rush updated three initiatives from her 2015 address: commercial courts; technology; and, criminal code reform. Last year, she reported, the groundwork was in place to make the possibility of commercial courts in Indiana a reality. In 2016, the first six commercial courts will start hearing cases. In technology, 2015 was a banner year for modernizing our courts. Trial courts continue to integrate into a unified case management system. The first electronic filing programs were initiated in Hamilton County and all appellate courts. Electronic filing will expand throughout the state, allowing the courts, the litigants, their attorneys, and the public to have quick, easy, accurate access to the courts. And, the creation of the nine-member Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council, consisting of criminal justice and mental health policymakers, has made the vision of criminal code reform a reality. The new emphasis on collaboration has resulted in major stakeholders coming together for the first time. Forty-three counties have added eighty-four new community correction and probation officers.
Strengthening Families and Children
Chief Justice Rush highlighted three ongoing efforts that concern our children and families, problem-solving courts, and information sharing. Our Indiana families face no shortage of challenges. Our state last year experienced a 30% increase in the number of children entering the welfare system—primarily because of parental substance abuse. Timely justice for Indiana’s children requires that they have their own advocates in the courtroom. Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASAs, are those childrens’ voices. Even with over 350,000 hours from these volunteers on behalf of 18,600 children, we still have over 5,000 children without a CASA. We will continue our work to expand this critical volunteer program.
Nearly a quarter of our Indiana children live in poverty, and a third live in single-parent households. Hoosier families depend on our Court to set workable and fair child support guidelines and to enforce child support orders. Indiana collected and distributed over a half-billion dollars in child support last year alone. Howard County’s Judge Lynn Murray and her team of fourteen judges worked to update Indiana’s child support guidelines, which resulted in one of the most comprehensive plans in the nation.
Chief Justice Rush also reported that Indiana is the only state in the country that enjoys a Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative partnership involving all three branches of government. This program proves that the goals of enhancing public safety, saving taxpayer dollars, and improving outcomes for youth are not at odds. The estimated savings to the Department of Correction, from this and other juvenile reforms, has steadily grown to over $15 million annually.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Supreme Court opened trial courts across the state to news cameras to mark National Adoption Day in November. On that day, 135 children in 44 courts went home with a “forever family.”
Growth and Success of Problem-Solving Courts
Indiana’s juvenile courts were the very first problem-solving courts. And, Indiana is still a pioneer in problem-solving courts. Participants in veteran, drug, mental health, family violence, or re-entry courts take part in intensive treatment programs, under direct court supervision. These courts are particularly vital to honoring our constitutional promise of reformative justice.
Nineteen new or expanded veterans courts will bring us to a total of seventy-nine problem-solving courts statewide. Because Indiana has more veterans per capita than most states, she pledged that Indiana will not be satisfied until all qualified veterans have access to these courts.
Indiana’s Drug Crisis: Crippling Communities and Flooding Courts
Chief Justice Rush reported that in 2015 she and her colleagues learned from their travels across the state, that the drug crisis, particularly heroin and methamphetamine addiction, is crippling communities and flooding our courts. Drug courts are now in place across the state to deal with this problem through rehabilitation, not punishment. Indiana cannot afford to incarcerate or institutionalize its way out of this drug crisis. There are no easy answers, but the courts stand ready to help communities bring productivity back to those who have lost their way.
Information Sharing to Guide Sound Decision-Making
She emphasized that these successful programs have two things in common: hard-working Hoosiers and access to reliable information. Timely justice and sound decision-making demand instant access to accurate information. Court information, such as offender demographics, is shared with our local, state, and federal partners. Current examples include:
- The Governor’s Management Performance Hub, by using court data to study recidivism;
- The Legislative Services Agency, by calculating the fiscal impact of felony and misdemeanor convictions; and
- The Indiana State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by compiling information from court records to understand the state’s high rate of suicide.
The Court’s main data sharing program, called INcite, has 30 applications. A few are:
- A judge sentencing a felon can assure that the inmate’s DNA has been processed by the State Police, which will be shared with other states and the FBI.
- A judge entering a protective order knows that the victim will receive a text message when that order has been served on the offender.
- A judge can immediately verify if there is an outstanding warrant for the defendant before him or her.
- A judge can ascertain if a child has appeared before another judge in another county.
- A judge enpaneling a jury can be sure it is the most inclusive and diverse possible, because of the juror list available through our INcite application.
Court Civic Outreach: Strengthening Hoosier Communities
As we fulfill our constitutional mission, she said Indiana will continue court outreach programs first encouraged by former Chief Justice Randall Shepard. In this past year:
- Dozens of trial and appellate judges walked out of the courtroom and into the classroom on Constitution Day to teach thousands of students about our founding document.
- The Supreme Court and Court of Appeals heard oral arguments across the state, reaching thousands of students.
- Appellate and trial courts reached thousands more students through local schools, the Capitol Tour Office, programming at the State Fair, and Statehood Day.
The Chief Justice reported that in April the Supreme Court will hear a modern case in our original home court in Corydon. The Court is working with the Department of Education to webcast the argument to classrooms across the state—again using partnerships and technology to promote our Court’s mission.
Honoring a Constitutional Scholar
Chief Justice Rush proudly told the audience that in two centuries of statehood, only a handful of justices have served this Court for more than 25 years. And, she noted, that as the Supreme Court revisits its origins and return to our state’s first courtroom in April, what better time, or more fitting place, to honor the second longest-serving justice in state history—Justice Brent Dickson. He is retiring this year after 30 years on the Indiana Supreme Court, including having served as Chief Justice.
She said that during his historic tenure, Justice Dickson has been instrumental in refining Indiana law with nearly 900 opinions. He has shaped the heart of Indiana law for years to come through careful opinions, keen insight, intelligence, unswerving ethics, tireless work, and dedication to the rule of law. He has led administrative reforms including dispute resolution through mediation, pretrial release, and promoting volunteer legal services for the poor.
Chief Justice Rush opined that hearing his final argument in the Corydon courtroom befits a man who has spent his career upholding the framers’ Constitution. She said the entire state owes its thanks to Justice Dickson and his wife Jan, a leader in her own right as founder of the Judicial Family Institute.
Conclusion
Chief Justice Rush concluded with the promise that the Indiana judiciary will be working hard to improve access to courts for unrepresented litigants; to better meet the needs of non-English-speaking litigants; and to reorganize our administrative structures to provide more efficient and effective services to Hoosiers seeking justice.