06302004 - News Article - Panel issues recommendation

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

Panel issues recommendation
Indiana Lawyer (Indianapolis, IN)
June 30, 2004
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/10E9B7055D89AD10?p=AWNB
A panel of three judges assigned to hear a case involving the judicial conduct of Lake Superior Judge Joan Kouros has submitted recommendations to the Indiana Supreme Court in the case.

The masters' panel, consisting of Marion Superior Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, Allen Superior Judge John Surbeck Jr., and Vanderburgh Circuit Judge Carl Heldt, conducted a hearing April 22 during which the high court's Judicial Qualifications Commission presented arguments on a 78-count complaint against the judge.

On June 14, the masters recommended that Kouros not be disbarred.

"The Masters do not find that Judge Kouros has violated the Code of Judicial Conduct or the Rules of Professional Conduct to the extent that she should be disbarred," they wrote.

They also found that Judge Kouros' illnesses - multiple sclerosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression - do not affect her ability to perform her judicial duties, as long as she is receiving proper care.

However, they did find that Kouros violated judicial canons.

"While serious, the Masters find that Judge Kouros' conduct, for the most part, has not been 'willful' in the sense that she has intentionally neglected her duties or dismissed their importance," they said. "By all accounts, she is a good judge in all respects excepting gross inefficiencies and delays in performing her tasks."

Despite these findings, the masters made no recommendation as to her discipline, removal, or retirement.

The commission's counts accused the judge of failure to file important paperwork in a timely manner and of telling the Supreme Court in February 2001 that a transcription system had been installed in her court to prevent further delays, when in fact the system was not installed until February 2003.

The recommendation along with Kouros' answer to the recommendation will go to the Supreme Court, which will consider the case and issue an opinion. Depending on how long the briefing process takes, a final decision could be handed down in mid- to late summer.