For most of us, the holidays mean family, home, and a time for celebration. This past December 17, the Marion County Superior Court, Probate Division, helped to make that the reality for sixty-one children in Marion County. On a day set aside specifically for adoption hearings, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, who presides over the Probate Division, finalized thirty adoptions, which is twice the number of non-contested a … [Read more...] about Mass Adoptions in Marion County Superior Court Probate Division
Features
Dealing with the Recession: A Court System That Won't Roll Over
On Jan. 20, 2010, Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard delivered his 23rd State of the Judiciary address to a Joint Session of the Indiana General Assembly. An excerpted version follows. For the first-time, the State of the Judiciary was broadcast to a statewide audience. Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations produced a half-hour special devoted to the State of the Judiciary. It aired on eight Indiana Public B … [Read more...] about Dealing with the Recession: A Court System That Won't Roll Over
Indiana Supreme Court Gives Stamp of Approval to Lake County and Marion County Electronic Filing Plans
Courts process, file, access and eventually, store paper, lots of it. It is cumbersome, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive to make paper products, to copy documents, to mail pleadings and notices, to maintain open files, and to store closed files. Lawyers, judges, and clerks, have all wondered: will this avalanche of paper ever end? The answer is a resounding YES! Thanks to advances in electronic t … [Read more...] about Indiana Supreme Court Gives Stamp of Approval to Lake County and Marion County Electronic Filing Plans
Supreme Court Website Helps Courts Manage Self-Represented Litigants
Almost every trial judge knows that there is a growing number of litigants who represent themselves in court, either by choice or because they cannot afford to hire attorneys. In 2008, more than 400,000 people represented themselves in Indiana trial courts. Those individuals may go to court without the benefit of an attorney, but that doesn’t mean the self-represented litigant must do so without some guidance. The … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Website Helps Courts Manage Self-Represented Litigants
It's a Small World After All
Judicial Conference in Australia Identifies Issues of Common Concern to Courts in all Countries. Some of the issues facing the judiciary are the same the world over, while others differ dramatically from country to country. I recently encountered these similarities and differences at the conference of the International Organization of Judicial Training (IOJT) held in Sydney, Australia in October. Countries as … [Read more...] about It's a Small World After All