Judge Heather Welch Receives Antoinette Dakin Leach Award
Judge Heather Welch of the Marion Superior Court was honored by the IndyBar Women and the Law Division with the Antoinette Dakin Leach Award, which is presented annually to recognize the accomplishments of a female attorney in central Indiana. She will be honored at the annual Antoinette Dakin Leach Award Luncheon, to be held this fall.
Judge Welch was recently elected to lead Marion Superior Court’s first all-female Executive Committee, and she presides over a specialized docket involving commercial business disputes. She is active with the IndyBar and has served in numerous roles, including vice president on the Board of Directors.
Cindy McCoy Receives Augustus Award as Probation Officer of the Year
Cindy McCoy, Director of Grant County Court Services, is the 2019 recipient of the Order of Augustus. The Probation Officers Advisory Board of the Judicial Conference of Indiana presented the award to Ms. McCoy on August 6 at the opening session of the Justice Services Conference. The award recognizes probation officers whose commitment and dedication has exemplified the ideals and philosophy of John Augustus, the undisputed “Father of Probation.”
Indiana State Bar Association Award
Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Robert Altice was presented with the Outstanding Judge Award for 2019 by the Young Lawyers Section.
ICLEF Awards Charles Kidd
Charles Kidd, Deputy Executive Director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, was awarded a certificate for excellence on July 24 for the quality and scope of his services in providing continuing legal education training. The certificate was awarded by ICLEF, Indiana’s primary CLE provider. Prior recipients of the award have included former Chief Justice Randall Shepard and Court of Appeals Judge Melissa May.
Indiana Retired Teachers Association Honors CASA Volunteers
The Indiana Retired Teachers Association (IRTA) recently recognized four retired teachers who are CASA volunteers for their outstanding contribution in advocating for abused and neglected children. The winners of the 2019 IRTA CASA awards were Sheila Henry (Monroe County), Shirley Segert (Pike County), Lucy Wieland (Putnam County), and Bonnie Wall from Southeastern Voices for Children (Ripley County).
New Justice Services Deputy Director
After eight years as the IOCS program coordinator within the Justice Service Division, Angie Hensley-Langrel has been appointed to serve as its Deputy Director. Hensley-Langrel has been in the driver seat of many IOCS projects: the probation coaching project, incentives and sanctions project, the probation examination update, and helping institute the online learning management system for IOCS. She has also developed and conducted training programs for problem solving courts, probation officers, and other criminal justice stakeholders. Hensley-Langrel is also the co-chair of the state EBDM Risk Reduction Strategies Work Group.
“Women Rule” on the Bench in Allen County
“Not just women, but awesome, community-involved, forward-thinking women, and it’s neat to be a part of that,” said Superior Court Judge Frances Gull of the first-ever majority female bench in Allen County. “The climate is different today. There are more women in the law. Our Chief Justice is a woman,” Gull said. Acceptance and inclusion of women in the legal field continues to improve as more and more women choose it as a career. “My hope is that women are encouraged to go into law and to be part of due process and our Constitution,” said Allen Superior Court Judge Wendy Davis.
Allen County Recovery Beds Will Boost Fight Against Substance Abuse
At three locations in Allen County, new sober living beds are now open to help treat people fighting substance use disorder. Fifteen new beds serving both men and women will be located at Park Center providing clinically managed high-intensity residential services. The new Redemption House will provide sixteen female recovery residence beds. Choices Treatment Centre featuring clinically low-intensity residential services will have twenty beds. These new treatment beds are the result of a pilot project recommended by the Governor’s Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment & Prevention. Allen Superior Court Judge Wendy Davis served on the Task Force.
Marion County Courts Host Juror Appreciation Ice Cream Social
On August 24, the Marion Circuit and Superior Courts partnered with the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site to host jurors and their families for a Juror Appreciation Ice Cream Social. Sixteen judicial officers participated in the event, which also included tours of the site, lawn games, and door prizes. The Courts invited over 2,100 citizens who appeared for jury service in the last calendar year.
2019 Trial Court and Clerk Employee Conference
The Indiana Office of Court Services (IOCS) hosted the Trial Court and Clerk Employee Conference on July 9, 2019. Nearly 400 trial court and clerk employees attended the conference which addressed technology, wellness, legal information versus legal advice, appeals, transcripts, and an active shooter plenary session. Anyone interested in learning more about the conference, please contact Kristyn Hill at [email protected].
Chief Justice Rush appointed to federal Judicial Conference Committee
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush was appointed in late June as a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Chief Justice Rush was appointed to a 3-year term, beginning on October 1, 2019. The committee is chaired by Judge D. Michael Fisher, U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Seventh Circuit announced Andrea K. McCord as new Bankruptcy Judge
Lawrence County Circuit Court Judge Andrea K. McCord was appointed as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Indiana. Judge McCord took office on May 20, 2019, where she succeeded Bankruptcy Judge Basil H. Lorch, III. Lawrence County Circuit Court Commissioner/Referee Nathan G. Nikirk was appointed by Governor Holcomb as her successor.
Gubernatorial Appointments
Floyd Circuit Court Judge Terry Cody of New Albany was appointed to the Probate Code Study Commission by Governor Holcomb. Judge Cody will serve until June 2021. Governor Holcomb also appointed Bartholomew County Clerk, Jay Phelps, to the Oversight Committee on Public Records.
Stephen E. Scheele was appointed to the Lake County Superior Court succeeding Judge William E. Davis. He has served as a magistrate judge in the Lake County Circuit Court since December 2016. Prior to this, he was in private practice and handled criminal defense cases in the Lake County and federal district courts. Scheele earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Denver and his law degree from Maurer School of Law at Indiana University.
Judge Faith Graham Appointed to NCJFCJ
Judge Faith Graham, Tippecanoe Superior Court 3, was recently elected to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The NCJFCJ provides resources, knowledge, and training to improve the lives of families and children seeking justice. This mission is what excites Judge Graham most about her recent election, “Representing Indiana on this national board is an honor, I am excited to bring back to Indiana the cutting-edge knowledge, practices, and resources the NCJFCJ has to offer.”
Judicial Conference Announces 2019 Committees
The Judicial Conference has created 22 committees on various topics to carry out the business of the Judicial Conference. These range from committees that draft benchbooks to committees that make policy decisions about future legislation.
Each Judicial Conference committee consists of 12-16 judicial officers and occasionally some non-judicial officers appointed by the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice also appoints a chair for each committee, who serves as chair for the remainder of the appointment to that committee. Each committee is staffed by the Indiana Office of Court Services.
On April 29, 2019, the Supreme Court amended Administrative Rule 4 to control both Judicial Conference committees and some additional committees and commissions. Because of this amendment, this year a few noteworthy changes occurred in the committee appointment process:
New committees
For the sake of consistency and efficiency, the committee appointment process was amended to add the A.R. 4 committees: Advisory Commission on Guardians ad Litem/Court Appointed Special Advocates, Language Access Advisory Committee, Child Welfare Improvement Committee, Domestic Violence Advisory Committee, and the Records Access and Management Committee. Additionally, the Senior Judge Committee has been added as a Judicial Conference committee.
3-year terms
A.R. 4(C) also formalizes the practice of members serving three-year terms with a limit of two terms and six years of consecutive service. This requirement eliminates the confusing class system for appointments that occasionally caused committee members to serve for more than six years.
Appointments effective July 1
The committee appointments previously became effective at the Annual September Conference, but A.R. 4 also changes the date of appointment to July 1.
Congratulations to this year’s new appointments!
The chairs for each committee are as follows:
[one-third-first]
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Stephen Scheele
Civil Benchbook
Elizabeth Cure
Community Relations
Sheryl Lynch
Court Alcohol & Drug Program Advisory
Gail Bardach
Court Personnel
David Riggins
Court Security
Heather Barajas
Criminal Benchbook
Sarah Mullican
Criminal Law Policy
R. Kent Apsley
Domestic Relations
A. Christopher Lee
Ethics
Heather Welch
[/one-third-first]
[one-third]
Judicial Administration
Vicki Carmichael
Judicial Education
Kelly Benjamin
Jury
Sally McLaughlin
Juvenile Benchbook
Faith Graham
Juvenile Justice Improvement
Dana Kenworthy
Probate
Terrence Cody
Probation
Lori Quillen
Problem-Solving Courts
Jonathan Cleary
Protection Order
Sean Persin
Senior Judge
Brent Dickson
Special Courts
Kimberly Bacon
[/one-third]
[one-third]
Strategic Planning
Mark Spitzer &
Richard Stalbrink
Language Access Advisory
Jose Salinas &
Lakshmi Reddy
GAL/CASA
Coleen Connor
Child Welfare Improvement
Andrew Roesener
Domestic Violence Advisory
Laura Gaskill
Records Access & Management
Mark Massa
Indiana Judges Association Committees and Chairs:
Civil Jury Instructions
Mark Dudley
Criminal Jury Instructions
Matthew Kincaid
[/one-third]