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Lake judge removed from bench
South Bend Tribune (IN)
June 29, 2003
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/13EA99EE63EED658?p=AWNB
CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) -- The Indiana Supreme Court has voted to temporarily remove a Lake County judge from the bench for failing to reduce a backlog of cases in her courtroom.
Lake Superior Judge Joan Kouros will spend her last day on the bench Monday. Senior Judge Raymond D. Kickbush will replace her beginning Tuesday for at least 90 days and possibly the remainder of her term, which is more than two years.
The court's decision Friday came despite letters of support for Kouros from a number of northwest Indiana attorneys, as well as a letter from Kouros herself stating why she should not be removed.
Kouros initially blamed the backlog on the clerk's office, prosecutors and defense attorneys, but later said it was the result of her own desire for perfection.
Acting Chief Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. said that while Kouros had taken some steps toward correcting the problem, a change in the way justice is administered in her court cannot await gradual improvement.
The high court said Kouros could petition for reinstatement in three months if she can prove she is capable of running an efficient court.
Kouros could not be reached for comment Saturday because her home telephone number is unlisted.
Her attorney, Kevin McGoff of Indianapolis, said it would be premature to comment on whether Kouros would seek reinstatement.
"The court has provided an opportunity for her to return to serve the community, and that's certainly something I think she wants to do," McGoff said Saturday.
Kouros becomes the first judge in the three decades of Lake County's merit selection system -- designed to pick the most capable judges -- to be forced off the bench other than by the voters.
The state Supreme Court has removed judges for disciplinary violations in the past, according to Douglas Cressler, administrator to the high court. But he said it was rare for a judge to be removed for poor performance.
The Supreme Court began investigating the backlog of cases in 2001. The court revealed in January 2001 that a backlog of 330 case files was piled in her judicial chambers waiting for her signature on decisions she had made months earlier.
The high court ordered Kouros to reduce the backlog of cases, but it swelled to at least 200 cases last October. In January, justices ordered Kouros to keep the backlog to 80 cases or fewer, but she exceeded that limit at least twice this spring.
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