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Post-Tribune (IN)
September 30, 2003
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF5C3C2CD85A337?p=AWNB
Porter County Superior Court Judge Raymond Kickbush likely will continue to hear criminal cases in Room 3 of Lake Superior Court while the Indiana Supreme Court decides what it will do with embattled Judge Joan Kouros.
Kouros was forced to step down from her Lake Superior Court Room 3 bench on July 1, with her first chance at reinstatement coming later this week.
But Kouros' chances at reinstatement took a major hit last week when the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications slapped her with 78 separate disciplinary counts.
Exactly how much longer Kickbush will continue to serve as judge pro tem in place of Kouros is not known.
However, someone will hear cases in the court.
"The Supreme Court will ensure that the courtroom is staffed and operating either with Judge Kickbush or, if need be, with another jurist until the matter is resolved," said David Remondini, spokesman for the Indiana Supreme Court.
Stanley Jablonski, one of two attorneys representing Kouros, declined to comment much on the charges filed against his client.
But Jablonski said he will be filing a response to the charges. Kouros has 20 days in which to file her official response with the commission.
The 78 counts is the most ever levied against a sitting judge, according to experts in the legal system.
Some suggest the number of counts is the commission's way of reinforcing its stance that Kouros has violated canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct, namely Canon 3.
Canon 3 requires a judge to perform duties impartially and diligently.
The charges against Kouros are the result of her allegedly failing to process important paperwork with the hundreds of cases she handled out of her courtroom prior to her removal.
Kouros had been ordered by the Indiana Supreme Court to process cases more rapidly to avoid delays.
In May, the Supreme Court issued an ultimatum to Kouros in the two-year struggle to get her to deal with a backlog of cases in her courtroom.
The court requested that Kouros show cause why it should not replace her with a judge pro tem.
Kouros provided reasons to the court -- namely citing her perfectionism as a cause for the continued backlog -- but it wasn't enough to prevent her removal from the bench.
Canon 3 of the Code of Judicial Conduct states, "The duty to hear all proceedings fairly and with patience is not inconsistent with the duty to dispose promptly of the business of the court. Judges can be efficient and businesslike while being patient and deliberate."
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