The Indiana Rules of Court have been published on the courts.in.gov website for more than twenty years in the same format, with the same method of storing and publishing this important content. In May, the Office of Judicial Administration launched a new Indiana Court Rules website that will eventually house all rules approved by the Court and the Judicial Conference Board of Directors. For now, in its beta form, it includes just 11 sets of the total 23 sets of rules.
Justin Forkner, Chief Administrative Officer, is pleased with the development of this project. He explained: “Our website sets the national standard for functionality and ease of access to legal information for lawyers, judges, litigants, and the general public. The Court Rules redesign meets and exceeds that same high bar of excellence. We look forward to continued development based on our user feedback.”
The new site takes a whole new approach to maintaining the rules, storing them as hypertext—instead of documents, which mimic paper—using single source publishing software. Now the text of each rule is stored in a single file, and the HTML, Word, and PDF formats can be compiled by the software with the touch of a button. The new approach opens the door to new features too.
Responsive, accessible website
Unlike the old version of the rules online, the new website is mobile-friendly and easy to use on various screen sizes. The site also follows accessibility guidelines for websites, and both the Word and PDF versions pass an accessibility check.
Version histories
Some of the published rules have version histories available so users can go back and see earlier versions of the rule and even click through to the rule change order that amended it. Version histories will be maintained going forward so that over time, several years of histories will be available.
Search across all rules
A simple search tool is available to search across all sets of rules or only the current rules, excluding obsolete rules that have been amended.
Feedback desired
OJA has published a survey requesting feedback on the new site, and your feedback is welcome.
Rules included in the beta site
PUBLISHED MAY 22
Appellate Procedure
Child Support Guidelines
Criminal Procedure
Parenting Time Guidelines
Trial Procedure
PUBLISHED JUNE 14
Evidence
Jury
Original Actions
Post-Conviction Remedies
Small Claims
Trial De Novo
TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE FUTURE
Access to Court Records
Administrative
Admission & Discipline
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Commercial Courts
Court Alcohol & Drug Program
Interpreter Code of Conduct
Judicial Conduct
Pretrial Service
Problem-Solving Court
Professional Conduct
Tax Court
View the rules website and access the survey at rules.incourts.gov