01162004 - News Article - Kouros recuses herself from cases - COURT ISSUES: Jablonski cases will be assigned to other judges

Also See:

09242017 - News Article Links - Disparity of justice: Comparison of Magistrate James Johnson's and Judge Joan Kouros' judicial investigations - Backlog of court cases

Kouros recuses herself from cases
COURT ISSUES: Jablonski cases will be assigned to other judges
NWI Times
Jan 16, 2004
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/kouros-recuses-herself-from-cases/article_18341fda-05e0-59d8-85a7-da6ed6991ddb.html
CROWN POINT -- Lake Criminal Court Judge Joan Kouros said she recused herself Tuesday from any cases involving clients represented by her own attorney, Stanley Jablonski.

Kouros, who returned to the bench Jan. 5 after a six-month suspension, faced the dilemma last week of how to handle cases in which Jablonski, who represented her before the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission, represented clients in her courtroom.

In the two cases that came before her Jan. 8, Kouros continued them for dates she'll be off so another judge will dispose of them. Now all cases in which Jablonski is the attorney have been reassigned to one of the three other judges, as will any cases in the future.

Kouros was appointed to the bench in 1997 and began having trouble three years later when the Lake County Bar Association campaigned for her removal because of her inability to finish cases in a timely manner. An Indiana Supreme Court investigation found a backlog of hundreds of case files piled in Kouros' chambers awaiting her signature on decisions she made months earlier.

The high court removed her from the bench June 27, but reinstated her Dec. 12. Kouros assured the justices she will administer her court better.

01092004 - News Article - To recuse or not to recuse - ETHICAL DILEMMA: Lawyer for Judge Kouros appears before her with a client

Also See:

09242017 - News Article Links - Disparity of justice: Comparison of Magistrate James Johnson's and Judge Joan Kouros' judicial investigations - Backlog of court cases

To recuse or not to recuse
ETHICAL DILEMMA: Lawyer for Judge Kouros appears before her with a client
NWI Times
Jan 9, 2004
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/to-recuse-or-not-to-recuse/article_435c1712-0cf2-5607-b11c-113f345000df.html
CROWN POINT -- It took just four days back on the bench for Judge Joan Kouros to face her first potentially ethical dilemma.

Lawyer Stanley Jablonski, who continues to represent Kouros before the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission, represented two clients who had hearings Thursday in Kouros' courtroom.

The prosecutor's office did not ask Kouros to recuse herself. She reset both cases on days she is scheduled off, Jablonski said. That way, the judge filling in for her will dispose of the cases, thus avoiding any conflict of interest, he said.

"We were both sensitive to the issue," Jablonski said. Kouros did not want to comment until she talked to someone "downstate."

The prosecutor's office told Kouros privately they were concerned about a possible conflict, said Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for the Lake County prosecutor's office.

Kouros returned to the bench Monday after a six-month suspension. She was appointed to the bench in 1997 and began having trouble three years later when the Lake County Bar Association campaigned for her removal because of her inability to finish a case in a timely manner. An Indiana Supreme Court investigation found a backlog of hundreds of case files piled in Kouros' chambers awaiting her signature on decisions she made months earlier.

The high court removed her from the bench June 27.

The Supreme Court ordered her reinstated Dec. 12. They ruled she now appears to have control over the obsessive-compulsive disorder she said affected her judicial performance. Kouros assured the justices she will administer her court better.

The question of a conflict of interest in a case such as came before Kouros on Thursday resides with the judge, not the lawyer, said Donald R. Lundberg, executive secretary of the Indiana Disciplinary Commission.

"There is nothing in the rules of professional conduct that says to a lawyer you shall not take a case which puts you in front of a judge with which you may have a conflict," Lundberg said. "Instead it says to judges, 'if a case comes before you in which you have a conflict you should recuse yourself.' I'm not saying Kouros should have recused herself, I'm simply saying it's more of a judge-side issue than a lawyer-side issue."

01072004 - News Article - Judge Kouros back on bench - She had been suspended from Lake Criminal Court for poor management

Also See:

09242017 - News Article Links - Disparity of justice: Comparison of Magistrate James Johnson's and Judge Joan Kouros' judicial investigations - Backlog of court cases

Judge Kouros back on bench
She had been suspended from Lake Criminal Court for poor management
NWI Times
Jan 7, 2004
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/judge-kouros-back-on-bench/article_89d31ad1-1b88-5745-baaf-53ca217150c8.html
CROWN POINT -- Monday morning marked the return to the bench of suspended Judge Joan Kouros in Courtroom No. 3 at Lake Criminal Court.

Kouros and her attorney, Stanley Jablonski, convinced the Indiana Supreme Court to reinstate her by saying she is getting help for her obsessive-compulsive disorder, which was aggravated by the onset of multiple sclerosis.

The disorder "caused her to ruminate over orders to make sure they were perfect" and added to her courtroom's disarray, according to a response filed by Kouros and Jablonski to the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission.

The commission, an arm of the Indiana Supreme Court responsible for policing judicial officials, charged Kouros in September 2002 with judicial misconduct.

Former Gov. Evan Bayh appointed Kouros to the bench in 1997. She began having trouble three years later when in 2000 the Lake County Bar Association campaigned for her removal because of her inability to finish a case in a timely manner.

The Supreme Court's staff investigated and reported in January 2001 they found a backlog of hundreds of case files piled in her judicial chambers awaiting her signature on decisions she made months earlier. She refused to release any paperwork until she corrected even minor punctuation errors.

The high court ordered her to amend her ways, but by June 2003, the justices concluded she had refused help from others until faced with an ultimatum and removed her June 27, 2003.

Kouros initially blamed her troubles on others, including the clerk's office, prosecutors, defense lawyers and her own staff.

The Supreme Court ordered her reinstated Dec. 12 stating Kouros has conferred with nine other judges to learn how to operate a busy urban court. She also has attended case management seminars in San Diego and Maine since last summer.

They ruled she now appears to have control over the obsessive-compulsive disorder that affected her judicial performance and has given assurances she will administer her court better in the future.

The order reminds Kouros the justices will continue to watch her progress.