09072004 - News Article - EDITORIALS - Turn suspension into judge's dismissal - The issue: Joan Kouros

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

EDITORIALS - Turn suspension into judge's dismissal
The issue: Joan Kouros
NWI Times
Sep 7, 2004
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/turn-suspension-into-judge-s-dismissal/article_e7dd7236-681f-51b0-b3c7-0d71f8ff65c8.html
The issue: Joan Kouros

Our opinion: There should be no more 'second chances' for this Lake Criminal Court judge

The Indiana Supreme Court has all the ammunition it needs to remove Lake Criminal Court Judge Joan Kouros from the bench.

In a scathing five-page brief to the high court, Meg Babcock, counsel for the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications, cited nearly four years of "futile second chances" for the judge.

It is time to say, "No more second chances."

Kouros has not been hearing cases since July 22, when the court suspended her with pay until it makes a final disposition of the matter.

Last week, the judicial commission urged her permanent removal, saying having Kouros remain a judge would erode public confidence in the judicial system. The Supreme Court must agree.

Kouros, appointed to the bench in 1997 by then-Gov. Evan Bayh, now a U.S. senator, has responded to the complaint by explaining her court backlog was caused by her obsessive-compulsive disorder. That prevented her from performing routine judicial tasks without excessive deliberation, she said.

Problems in her courtroom began four years ago when lawyers began complaining they were not getting their fees in a timely manner. In addition, jail inmate transfers were not done because Kouros was slow in completing the routine -- but necessary -- paperwork. The commission reviewed her court and found a backlog of hundreds of cases awaiting her signature on decisions made months earlier.

The judicial system tried to help her, with the Supreme Court asking Kouros' fellow judges to help her improve. She initially refused, according to the judges. The court had no choice but to issue warnings and detailed instructions on how to manage her paperwork. She also was suspended for a time last year,

Senior Judge Thomas Webber Sr. has been running the court in her absence.

The Indiana Supreme Court has more than enough ammunition to make that absence permanent.

09032004 - News Article - Commission says remove Kouros -- again - Judicial commission answers Kouros' reply to the Supreme Court

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

Commission says remove Kouros -- again
Judicial commission answers Kouros' reply to the Supreme Court
NWI Times
Sep 3, 2004
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/commission-says-remove-kouros----again/article_446f86ef-4b9b-5c56-bd8d-c6dc0eb571a9.html
Lake Criminal Court Judge Joan Kouros' offenses are more grievous than those of the judges cited in her brief to the Indiana Supreme Court and warrant her permanent removal from the bench, argued the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications in a five-page brief filed Wednesday.

"The Commission respectfully submits it is time to recognize that Judge Kouros will not or cannot comply with the Supreme Court Order and her own sworn promises," wrote Meg Babcock, counsel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

"To allow her to continue in office after nearly four years of futile second chances would only erode further the public's confidence in the Lake Superior Court, in the Supreme Court and in its authority over the conduct of Indiana's judges."

The only thing left now is for the Indiana Supreme Court to decide whether to discipline Kouros for not keeping her commitment to clean up her courtroom and, if so, what form the discipline will take.

There is no timetable set forth for the state's highest court to make that decision.

The commission recommends Kouros' permanent removal.

Because the Judicial Commission made the request, the Supreme Court suspended Kouros July 22 with pay until it makes the final decision. Senior Judge Thomas Webber Sr. now runs Criminal Courtroom 3 in her absence.

A battle has been waged between Kouros and the Judicial Commission since lawyers in Kouros' court began complaining four years ago about not getting their fees in a timely manner, and jail inmate transfers were stalled because she was too slow in completing routine paperwork.

Kouros was appointed judge in 1997. The Supreme Court first asked Kouros' fellow judges to help her improve. They said she initially refused their help.

The commission reviewed her court and found a backlog of hundreds of cases awaiting her signature on decisions made months earlier. Her tardiness aggravated overcrowding in the county lockup by preventing inmates from being transferred to a state prison.

The high court issued warnings and detailed instructions two years ago on how to manage her paperwork. She failed to comply, and the high court suspended her for six months last year. Raymond Kickbush, a retired judge from Porter County, said he had to work hard to return her court to normalcy.

Kouros admitted in her October request to be returned to the bench that her obsessive-compulsive disorder prevents her from performing routine jobs without excessive deliberation.

When reinstated in January, Kouros promised to send signed orders to the court clerk within 48 hours and to have no more than 80 files checked out to her court at any given time.

In the Judicial Commission's reply filed Wednesday, it cites six judges who delayed a total of 43 cases.

In contrast, between her reinstatement and an April hearing before a panel of three master judges, Kouros showed delays in about 70 cases, the Commission stated.

"Judge Kouros blames her misconduct in 2004 on the fact she hired an inexperienced secretary after her reinstatement," the Commission's Babcock wrote in her reply. "She made this choice instead of hiring one of the seasoned 'floaters,' and now points to that decision as an excuse for her continued defiance of the Court's order."