Also See:
Judge has quiet last day and uncertain future
Joan Kouros replaced with temporary judge by state Supreme Court
NWI Times
Jul 1, 2003
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/judge-has-quiet-last-day-and-uncertain-future/article_95645d2d-e3eb-57a6-b827-c1a990c4b96f.html
The Indiana Supreme Court is sailing into largely uncharted waters with its decision to remove Lake Criminal Court Judge Joan Kouros from the bench and replace her with a temporary judge.
"This rule is rarely invoked," said Supreme Court spokesman David Remondini. "We're treading on relatively unplowed ground here."
Kouros' last day as an active jurist passed Monday morning with no activity in her courtroom, which stood empty. All 11 cases scheduled for hearings were canceled.
The judge was in her chambers Monday, according to her secretary, but didn't return calls for comment.
Kevin McGoff, her attorney, said Monday he is unclear what she will do next. "Joan and I have not sat down to explore our options.
"She wants to be cooperative with Judge Kickbush and make sure there is a smooth transition for the short term and continue to be cooperative with the Supreme Court so she can serve the citizens," he said.
The high court appointed Senior Judge Raymond Kickbush to act in Kouros' behalf for at least the next 90 days.
Other judges have been removed from the bench in Indiana history, but usually, that is the final act in their careers.
The high court's removal order for Kouros allows her to petition for reinstatement within 90 days, but she must prove she is again fit to be a judge.
Court observers have openly questioned how Kouros can prove she can do the job without being on the bench, but the Supreme Court may require Kouros to come up with her own solutions.
"What could happen in the future, I really don't know," Lilia J. Judson, executive director of the Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration, said Monday.
"It will all depend on whether Judge Kouros can satisfy the (Supreme) Court she is able or willing or has a plan to perform her job in the way the court feels she should do it."
She said the Supreme Court is currently treating Kouros' matter as an administrative problem, but if it persists they could change their view of it to either a medical disability or a disciplinary matter that would guide them to a permanent resolution.
Some say that no matter what Kouros tells the Supreme Court, she will find herself unable to follow through with promises of improvements.
At the heart of the matter is her inability to do the time-consuming, often tedious grind of one of the four judges in the criminal division of the Lake Superior Court, proportionately the busiest criminal court in Indiana.
An admitted perfectionist, Kouros told the high court last month she often labors for hours over one ruling, allowing other cases to pile up and remain unadjudicated for weeks and even months.
"She may be more suited to be a judge in a place like Newton County, where the volume is not so overwhelming," said one court source. "Lake County may just be too much for her." Newton is a rural county that has less than 3 percent of the population of Lake County.
A compromise discussed behind closed doors is the option of allowing Kouros to retire and accept senior judge status, which would allow her to keep her state benefits -- including medical insurance -- by working at least 30 days a year.
Senior status is normally reserved for a retired judge who has served a long and distinguished career, like former Porter Superior Court Judge Raymond Kickbush, who will sit as temporary judge after Kouros leaves the bench today.
The appointment of Kickbush by the state's high court has led some Lake County judges to speculate the absence of Kouros will not be for the remainder of her term, as Kickbush has expressed reluctance to take on long-term assignments following his retirement.
Senior judges often step in during emergency absences or to hear cases in which a sitting judge must step down for reasons of conflict or other problems.
Kickbush has served in all four of Lake County's criminal divisions after the retirements of James Letsinger, James Clement and Richard Maroc.
No comments:
Post a Comment