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Kouros urged to step down
Deputy prosecutor says 'job is too big for her ... job overwhelms her'
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 16, 2003
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF67C85C9538992?p=AWNB
Reaction to news that Lake Superior Court Criminal Division Judge Joan Kouros could be removed from the bench ranged from shock and disbelief to no surprise at the Lake County Government Center on Thursday.
While Kouros' fellow Criminal Division judges are voicing public support for their embattled colleague, one veteran Lake County deputy prosecutor -- who is often at odds with the judge -- believes she should step down because the job is too much for her.
"The people who truly care about her should encourage her to step down. I think the job is killing her. I think she needs help. I say that with all sincerity," Lake County deputy prosecutor John Burke said Thursday. "The job is too big for her and the job overwhelms her."
The Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration is demanding that Kouros show cause why a judge pro tem should not be appointed to her courtroom.
The state's highest court has seemingly had enough of Kouros' inability to manage her case load.
In the petition released Wednesday, it cited Kouros' repeated violations of the Supreme Court's order demanding that she deal more effectively with a serious backlog of cases in her courtroom.
Kouros, according to state court records, is failing to comply with an order from January that she return case files to the Lake County clerk's office within 48 hours.
Kouros, appointed to the bench in 1997, has failed to record motions for defendants who come before her, delaying transfers to other facilities or providing services.
Some cases involve Lake County jail inmates having to spend more time incarcerated on misdemeanor crimes than needed because Kouros fails to issue sentencing orders.
It's not known if and when Kouros will respond to the order. Although she took the bench Thursday, she did not return calls seeking comment.
Lake Superior Court Senior Judge Thomas Stefaniak believes Kouros can turn things around in the courtroom.
Stefaniak points out that between 1999 and 2001, Kouros disposed of as many cases as each of the other three Criminal Division judges. In 2002, Kouros conducted 20 jury trials, tied for the most in the division.
"In defense of Judge Kouros, she works hard, works many nights and weekends. I say this not to ignore the problem but to point out the positives of Judge Kouros," Stefaniak said.
"I believe the problems facing that court can be resolved should the Supreme Court choose to take that direction."
But two years after the Supreme Court issued its first order that Kouros clean up the backlog mess, she has not been able to do it.
"Being a judge anywhere is a difficult job at best. (Kouros) makes the job of being a judge 10 times more difficult than what it really is," said Burke.
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