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Deputy Burke gets reassigned to court
Some suspect the move may have been result of his comments on judge
Post-Tribune
July 22, 2003
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF62EA672795BCC?p=AWNB
An outspoken, respected veteran deputy prosecutor in the Lake County prosecutor's office has been reassigned to a new courtroom in the Lake County Government Center.
It is unknown if John Burke's reassignment is punishment for remarks he made against Lake Superior Court Judge Joan Kouros.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter could not be reached for comment Monday. Carter made the move late last month, according to those in his office.
Kouros was removed from the bench in late June by the Indiana Supreme Court because she failed to deal with a case backlog in her courtroom.
She has 90 days to appeal to the Supreme Court to get her job back.
In recent interviews with the Post-Tribune, Burke, who has been with the prosecutor's office for some 30 years, made some pointed remarks about Kouros and her ability to be a judge.
Burke has said that the job of being a judge was "too big" and "overwhelms" Kouros, and supported her removal.
Some sources in Lake Superior Court says Burke says things that other deputy prosecutors wouldn't dare say about Kouros.
Kouros had become known as being tough -- maybe even rude -- to some deputy prosecutors who practiced before her.
Some speculate that Burke may have been assigned to Kouros' courtroom two years ago as a way to "straighten her out" in ways younger and less experienced deputy prosecutor's could not.
In an story printed July 6 in the Post-Tribune, Burke contended that Kouros was unfair to him in rulings against him in certain cases.
"A number of times I had the feeling in (Kouros') courtroom, I was not playing on a level playing field," Burke, a Chesterton resident, said.
Tensions between Burke and Kouros had also increased in recent months. Kouros found Burke in contempt of court in one case, and unprofessional in conduct in another.
The contempt claim was eventually dismissed without reason against Burke by Kouros about a month later.
Burke declined comment Monday on his removal from Courtroom 3 where Kouros presided. He will now hear cases in Courtroom 1 of Judge Salvador Vasquez.
Burke will continue to handle about 10 cases in Courtroom 3, namely the case of suspected serial killer Eugene Britt.
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