04262003 - News Article - Kouros' backlog raises new concerns - Two representatives of state Supreme Court pay another visit

Also See:

09242017 - News Article Links - Disparity of justice: Comparison of Magistrate James Johnson's and Judge Joan Kouros' judicial investigations - Backlog of court cases

Kouros' backlog raises new concerns 
Two representatives of state Supreme Court pay another visit
Post-Tribune (IN)
April 26, 2003
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF67C5A148252DE?p=AWNB
The Indiana Supreme Court may be losing patience with Lake Superior Court Judge Joan Kouros, who seems to continue to violate an order to deal effectively with her case backlog.

On Monday, two representatives of the Supreme Court paid a visit to Kouros' room III courtroom where about 177 cases had been checked out from the Lake County clerk's office.

"We did have two staffers reviewing the cases in her court," confirmed Supreme Court spokesman David Remondini. "One of the reasons was to determine her compliance with the court's order."

The results of the visit haven't been made public, and it is not known when they will be.

Kouros had become known for having hundreds of file cases in her courtroom and chambers, the majority of which awaited rulings or orders for defendants, some of whom are being held in the Lake County Jail.

In January, the Supreme Court ordered Kouros to immediately implement practices to prevent delays of cases in her court, return files checked out of the clerk's office within 48 hours and not have more than 80 files out at one time.

Early on, it appeared Kouros was following through on the terms of the order, but problems began slowly creeping back up.

As of March 21, Kouros reportedly had as many as 172 files checked out to her courtroom. On Monday, about 80 cases had been returned to the clerk's office.

As of Friday, about 144 cases had been checked out, although some were part of Kouros' daily court call.

Kouros could not be reached for comment.

Although generally viewed as a stern, fair and hard-working judge, Kouros could face disciplinary action by the Supreme Court if she continues to violate the order. Such action could include removal from the bench.

04122003 - News Article - Accused molester allowed visitation - Chesterton man allowed supervised contact with his alleged abuse victim

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09242007 - Terror in Porter County Divorce Court - 1990's - Magistrate James Johnson and Judge Thomas Webber at the helm

Accused molester allowed visitation
Chesterton man allowed supervised contact with his alleged abuse victim
NWI Times
Apr 12, 2003
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/accused-molester-allowed-visitation/article_1b5b1bf4-5673-59ff-b23c-324cf8342675.html
VALPARAISO -- A 21-year-old Chesterton man, who is accused of molesting his underage sister for the last six years, was granted the right Friday to have limited contact with the girl.

The man will be allowed to continue to interact with his 14-year-old sister under the supervision of their parents.

The limited no-contact order was issued by former Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber after the pair's father took the stand and said the two have been interacting without problem since the allegations came to light.

The young man, who The Times is not naming in an attempt to protect the identity of the girl, no longer lives in the family's house. The court order prohibits him from having any unsupervised contact with his sister.

The family also has placed both the accused and his sister in counseling, said defense attorney Peter Boyles.

"They're trying to do everything possible to make sure the family is not harmed further," Boyles said.

The arrangement did not sit well with Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Mike Drenth, who had asked the court to prohibit all contact between the girl and the accused.

The request for the order came as the young man made an initial court appearance Friday on the B felony counts of child molesting and incest. An innocent plea was entered on his behalf and a trial date was set for Sept. 15.

B felonies carry a potential prison term of between six and 20 years.

It was Boyles who sought to include supervised visits as part of the no-contact order.

Boyles called the father to the stand and under questioning, the father said while child protection officials have been involved in the case, they have not called for a no-contact order.

Kathy Hannon, child protective services supervisor with the Porter County Office of Family and Children, said she could not comment on specific cases.

But she said her office works closely with prosecutors on cases of abuse and neglect involving children younger than 18. The office investigates complaints and when action is warranted, follows through with appropriate services, she said.

The accused, who is not in custody, is scheduled to appear again in court June 6.

Webber was sitting in Friday for Porter Superior Court Judge Bill Alexa, who has been away the last couple of weeks at a judicial school.

Alexa is scheduled to be back on the bench Monday.

04042003 - News Article - Judge still needs to clean up mess - High court uncertain of sanctions if Kouros doesn't return old files

Also See:

09242017 - News Article Links - Disparity of justice: Comparison of Magistrate James Johnson's and Judge Joan Kouros' judicial investigations - Backlog of court cases

Judge still needs to clean up mess
High court uncertain of sanctions if Kouros doesn't return old files
NWI Times
Apr 04, 2003
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/judge-still-needs-to-clean-up-mess-high-court-uncertain/article_d38c01c1-df9d-524f-ba42-b2d674c21dbd.html
CROWN POINT -- The deadline for Lake Criminal Court Judge Joan Kouros to clean up the paperwork mess in her courtroom has come and gone, and she is still not in complete compliance with the January order of the Indiana Supreme Court.

While Kouros has moved a lot of the paperwork that was clogging the system in her room, she still has not come close to what the court ordered on Jan. 17: that she return all files to the county clerk within 48 hours and not keep out more than 80 files at one time.

But a check Wednesday by The Times showed more than twice that many files remain checked out this week, well past the March 6 deadline set by the Indiana Supreme Court. A letter has been sent from the county clerk to the state's high court, showing as of March 21 Kouros still had 172 files checked out to her courtroom.

Of those, 11 were from 2003, 76 from 2002, 37 from 2001, 27 from 2000, six from 1999, three from 1998, two from 1997, four from 1996, one each from 1991 through 1995 and one case out from 1985.

Although the Supreme Court's order was strongly worded and set firm guidelines, the high court did not include sanctions if the order is not complied with beyond a vague reference to the possibility of "further action."

At issue are the stacks of case files checked out to Kouros from the clerk's office but never returned, leaving some inmates in limbo and some lawyers without pay for services rendered.

The order, crafted by Chief Justice Randall Shepard, said in essence that Lake County was not properly addressing the situation and that he was not reluctant to have the Supreme Court assume the oversight.

Shepard said Thursday he continues to be hopeful the problem will be resolved positively.

"It is not our object to cause trouble for any individual," he said. "There have been some t's that have to be crossed and some i's that have to be dotted, and more promptly than they have been."

If that is not done, he said, "We know what our alternatives are, but we have not made any decisions about any of them because we expect this to be resolved favorably."

Privately, some local attorneys and court officials say they see no reason why Kouros will pay any more attention to the order of the Supreme Court than she did the attempts by the local judges to get the mess cleaned up.

But Supreme Court spokesman David Remondini said the high court does not plan to sweep the matter under the rug. "If anybody thinks we are going to ignore this, we have already invested a lot of time in this and we plan to stay on top of it," he said.

He admitted the letter from the Lake County clerk's office detailing the failure of Kouros to return the files in a timely matter has troubled the justices.

"In theory, at least, she (Kouros) was supposed to have taken care of these things," he said. "The letter from the clerk will prompt a closer look and sooner than we had originally anticipated."

Shepard, in the January order, said in an order one year earlier it had told Lake County there was a mess, that Lake County had assured the court it was cleaning it up and it had not.

The January 2002 order from Shepard to Kouros to clean the court left it up to the local judges to implement the cleanup plan. The January 2003 order did not.

Kouros did follow the high court's orders in ridding her court of the old cases, court employees said, but while she was doing that she allowed the current caseload to back up.

Kouros has repeatedly said there is no problem, but if the Supreme Court wants her court run in a certain manner she will comply. She has also cited a run-in with Clerk Anna Anton as a reason for hostility she said she feels from Anton.

For her part, Anton denies any hostility and denies her motives are political, as Kouros has alleged. Anton said she does not plan to seek any further office after she leaves the clerk's post in December.