Background: The Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance Project (MFTCAP) was created to assist trial courts in scheduling and conducting mortgage foreclosure settlement conferences. This program utilizes court-appointed facilitators to reach out to foreclosed borrowers, ensure they are aware of their right to a settlement conference, and to bring both parties to the table to try to find a mutually-agreeable … [Read more...] about Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance Project
Articles
Digital Copiers and Hard Drives: Keeping a Lid on Confidential Information
Your court staff is very careful to redact data deemed confidential by Administrative Rule 9 and to insist that all litigants properly file on green paper those pleadings that contain confidential information that must be kept private. When they need to make copies they do so carefully, keeping protected information out of the public eye. They may even use the copier to send documents by fax or email before carefully … [Read more...] about Digital Copiers and Hard Drives: Keeping a Lid on Confidential Information
How to Handle Expungements
In regards to court records, what is expungement? When is it authorized? How is it accomplished? Black’s Law Dictionary tells us to expunge is “to destroy or obliterate; blot out; efface designedly; strike out wholly.” Express authority for courts to order expungement of records in Indiana is rather limited. Statutory authority for expungement of arrest records is found in I.C. 35-38-5-1 et seq.1 Expungement of recor … [Read more...] about How to Handle Expungements
Different Processes Govern Special Judge Appointments for Criminal and Civil Cases
Indiana rules of procedure and case law allow for the appointment of special judges under certain circumstances. The process for selecting judges can sometimes be confusing because it varies depending on the type of case and the reason a special judge is needed. In civil cases, different steps must be followed depending on whether the regular judge granted a motion for a change of judge or because the regular judge … [Read more...] about Different Processes Govern Special Judge Appointments for Criminal and Civil Cases
Highlights from the 2010 Indiana General Assembly for Courts and Clerks
The Indiana Judicial Conference has compiled an excellent and extensive digest of all legislation passed by the 2010 Indiana General Assembly. The legislative digest of these laws can be found at www.in.gov/legislative/reports/2010/DIGEST_OF_ENACTMENTS.PDF. If you would like to see the entire text of any law, as well as any other legislative action, you may access this information at … [Read more...] about Highlights from the 2010 Indiana General Assembly for Courts and Clerks