A high profile working group has been formed to review the laws and rules involving one of the most critical records in Indiana’s judicial system—the judgment docket. The judgment docket serves as notice to all interested parties that a judgment exists and is a lien on the real property of the defendant. The use of judgment dockets can be traced to the time of King Henry VIII (1509 – 1547). In his time, court case rec … [Read more...] about Judgment Docket Task Force
Records
Things to Know about Case Types and Court Information
1 Look for the new Case Type Quick Reference Guide. There is now a quick and easy tool that court and clerk staff can use to find out what case type they should assign to unusual proceedings. Detailed instructions about how cases should be designated and counted are part of the statistical reporting system and are available at courts.in.gov/admin under Forms > Statistics Reporting Forms. In addition to the … [Read more...] about Things to Know about Case Types and Court Information
Where there's smoke, there's… water?
Thanks to the quick and knowledgeable responses by Tippecanoe Clerk Christa Coffey and her staff, no records of permanent value were lost as a result of a fire in the courthouse annex. The fire—deemed “suspicious” by the Lafayette Fire Department—occurred in the overnight hours of May 3rd and May 4th. Clerk's office staff were concerned about the impact of the fire and smoke on the records, but the major damage was … [Read more...] about Where there's smoke, there's… water?
Maintaining the Chronological Case Summary
Indiana courts must maintain certain records. The clerk of the court is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the chronological case summary (CCS) under Trial Rule 77(B). The clerk must maintain a sequential record of the judicial events in every proceeding. The record includes the caption of the case, case number, and the names, addresses, telephone numbers of attorneys and self-represented … [Read more...] about Maintaining the Chronological Case Summary
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