The Power of the Pen: What happens behind the scenes Judges wield tremendous power, often literally with a stroke of their pens as they sign their names on orders and findings. When the cases involve family violence, routine decisions—whether to check the “Brady box” on a protection order, or whether to make the domestic violence determination in a misdemeanor case—can indeed carry life-or-death consequences. Why is t … [Read more...] about NICS: National Instant Background Check System
Columns
Honorable Gail Bardach
This is the thirty-sixth of our Court Times articles that highlight up close and personal a member of the Indiana Judiciary. Hamilton Superior Court Judge Gail Bardach is our judge featured in this issue. Judge Bardach graduated from Indiana University at Bloomington in 1972, and the IU McKinney School of Law in 1975. She served as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Marion County, then as Assistant United States Attorney … [Read more...] about Honorable Gail Bardach
Are you paying court employees a salary or not?
Two salary issues have been vexing a number of courts: 1) must court employees be paid for every hour worked when they are “salaried” and 2) may court reporters work during the regular work hours when the reporter is preparing a transcript? Both state statutes and case law frequently refer to the salaries of public employees in Indiana, from police officers and public welfare employees to firemen and city employees. … [Read more...] about Are you paying court employees a salary or not?
New timesaving feature in Odyssey
Court revenue information collected by a clerk using the Odyssey case management system will automatically be imported into one county-wide court revenue report for all circuit and superior courts (revenue for the city, town, and Marion County Township courts using Odyssey will still be imported into individual court revenue reports). This enhancement eliminates the need for the report preparer to run a revenue … [Read more...] about New timesaving feature in Odyssey
Protecting What You’ve Got: Preserving Knowledge
Judge Steady, I won the lottery!,” exclaimed Court Reporter Sue Lucky. Yea for twenty-year employee Sue, who is celebrating by resigning that very day to find a new winter home near her grandchildren in Arizona. An employer is lucky to get a week’s notice. All courts are “at will” employers and employees are free to resign at any time. A basic sense of fairness and the threat of bad references are the two major rea … [Read more...] about Protecting What You’ve Got: Preserving Knowledge