Ordering respondents to surrender firearms is not always easy for courts—it can mean more work for staff, extra hearings to ensure compliance, and negotiations with local law enforcement about storing the weapons and ammunition. But the power to order surrender of firearms as part of issuing a protection order is a vital means of reducing lethality in family violence cases. Consider this: protection order laws are p … [Read more...] about Firearms & Protection Orders: Considering Surrender
Search Results for: pretrial
2014 Reform Grants
With nearly 1.6 million new cases filed in 2013, Indiana’s trial courts must continually look for new ways to increase efficiency while still providing a high quality of service to litigants and other court participants. One of these ways is through Indiana’s Court Reform Grant program, funded through federal reimbursements for previously uncollected expenses associated with Title IV-D enforcement actions. Since 200 … [Read more...] about 2014 Reform Grants
Specialized Domestic Violence Courts
Although there is no standard model of a “domestic violence court,” the term generally means a specialized court division where only domestic violence cases are filed or a specialized docket on which a trial court, which hears other types of cases, assigns domestic violence cases and hears them on a particular day or time. In the United States today, there are over two hundred specialized domestic violence courts. Can … [Read more...] about Specialized Domestic Violence Courts
Education Abroad: Indiana Court of Appeals Judges Travel to Turkey
“The world is globalizing and law is universalizing.” So begins a letter from the Justice Academy of Turkey to selected American judges who were invited to Turkey in June to exchange knowledge with Turkish judges and prosecutors in training. Some urgency attended the message. Turkey has been reforming its judicial system for a decade, not least to advance its goal of joining the European Union. Concerns cited by the E … [Read more...] about Education Abroad: Indiana Court of Appeals Judges Travel to Turkey
Is Indiana Ready for Bail Bond Reform?
Editor’s Note: Res Gestae magazine has also published Judge Donat’s article in the November 2012 issue under the title “I’m Embarrassed.” The Indiana Constitution provided in Article 1, Section 12: “Justice shall be administered freely, and without purchase; completely, and without denial; speedily, and without delay.” “Without purchase” is an interesting concept. Does it mean that ability to pay will not determine wh … [Read more...] about Is Indiana Ready for Bail Bond Reform?