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Kouros would make mistake by fighting latest allegations
Our opinion: The suspended judge should resign to allow the replacement process to begin
Post-Tribune
September 30, 2003
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF5C3C2A59D9CF8?p=AWNB
We said it before and we'll say it again -- Lake Superior Court, Criminal Division, Judge Joan Kouros should resign.
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications essentially suggested the same thing Friday when it filed 78 separate disciplinary charges against Kouros.
You may recall that the Indiana Supreme Court removed Kouros from the bench during the summer, telling her she could petition for reinstatement in 90 days.
While those 90 days expire this week, it would have been unwise for Kouros to seek reinstatement, even if the disciplinary charges hadn't been filed against her on Friday.
Kouros has 20 days to respond to the 78 disciplinary charges. If she does, the Supreme Court will appoint a panel of three judges to preside over an evidentiary hearing and report their findings to the high court.
Kouros shouldn't waste the state's time by responding.
Kouros, until her suspension, presided over one of the busiest courts in the state.
As evidenced by the lengthy list of disciplinary charges filed against her, she hasn't been able to handle the caseload.
That doesn't make Kouros a bad person, just an attorney in the wrong position.
Among the 78 instances cited, the commission noted a case where a year passed between the sentencing of a defendant and the processing of the sentencing orders that would have allowed the transfer of the individual to the state correction system.
Besides being unfair to the defendant, it kept an inmate in the county jail much longer than he should have been here. That is an expense to the county and adds to overcrowding.
Also particularly troubling was Kouros' unprofessional conduct in attacking deputy prosecutor John Burke, who was one of the victims of Kouros case mismanagement.
We aren't sure why the Supreme Court didn't remove Kouros in June, as opposed to suspending her. Perhaps the justices wanted to do everything by the book.
The action last week by the Judicial Qualifications Commission likely is a way of telling Kouros not to apply for reinstatement.
It's not just a case or two that Kouros has mishandled. There has been a pattern of mismanagement during her short tenure as judge.
Because of political corruption, Lake County's image is at an all-time low in the eyes of the rest of the state. The county doesn't now need to have the problems in one courtroom aired in public.
For the good of the system and the operation of Kouros' courtroom, it is time she step down.
While Judge Pro Tem Raymond Kickbush, a retired Porter County judge, has done an admirable job of filling in, the court needs a permanent judge -- one who resides in Lake County and understands the criminal problems here.
With Kouros' resignation, the merit-selection process could begin. Lake County has many fine attorneys who would make excellent judges.
We saw that most recently when Salvador Vasquez was named to replace Judge Richard Maroc, who retired.
The other two finalists, criminal division magistrate Kathleen Sullivan and defense attorney and former prosecutor Thomas Vanes also would have made fine judges.
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