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Kouros' response date postponed
High court warns local criminal judge: No more delays
NWI Times
Jun 5, 2003
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/kouros-response-date-postponed/article_60303eb4-a64f-501f-8561-c82386d45ea0.html
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Supreme Court has given Lake Criminal Court Judge Joan Kouros a last-minute extension to respond to a petition that argues she should be removed from the bench.
But the order, signed by Chief Justice Randall Shepard, denied Kouros' request for a 30-day delay and set the deadline for her response at June 16. The original date for the response was to be Wednesday.
Kouros' attorney, Kevin McGoff, said he needed more time to investigate the workings of the Lake County judicial system and to interview additional witnesses, but Shepard's response made it clear the justices have run out of patience with Kouros.
"Judge Kouros has already been aware of the issues that are the subject of this cause since at least January 17, 2003," Shepard wrote, adding the judge has had more than 20 days to consider the petition's allegations.
Shepard said no additional time extensions will be granted.
McGoff filed his request at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Shepard issued his response four hours later.
It is ironic that Kouros asked for the delay since such delays within her own courtroom are at the heart of the complaint against her, filed by the Supreme Court's Division of State Court Administration on May 14.
But McGoff said his request "is not being made for the reason of delay" but that he has met with another Lake County judge and has concluded he needs additional time.
McGoff said several judges have offered to mentor Kouros, although Kouros has said in earlier interviews that she feels she is not doing anything wrong and has been targeted for political reasons.
Not every judge on the Superior Court bench thinks Kouros can get her act together in time to placate the Supreme Court.
In its essence, the complaint asks that Kouros tell the Supreme Court why she should not step down and let a temporary judge take her place in order to clear up a backlog within her court that has created chaos for the prosecutor, defense lawyers and the criminal division of the Lake County clerk's office.
Specifically, the state court administrator's office said, Kouros is not making entries in court dockets in a timely manner, resulting in files not being returned to the clerk's office, delays in the release of jailed people and in the release of people who have been convicted of crimes.
In the strongly worded order, State Court Administrator Lilia Judson said Kouros has ignored attempts to help her by the local judges and has repeatedly ignored earlier attempts by the Indiana Supreme Court to help her.
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