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Supreme Court wrong to delay Kouros ouster
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 15, 2004
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/105D9631A77F946C?p=AWNB
The Indiana Supreme Court this week did what it should have done long ago -- order Lake Superior Court Judge Joan Kouros removed from the bench.
Just as the high court hasn't handled the case well from the start, it was less than judicious in ordering its final resolution.
Since her appointment in January 1997, Kouros has spent part of her tenure on paid suspension -- the last of which started in June -- while her performance was being evaluated.
Despite the high court's scathing critique of her performance, Kouros will remain on paid suspension until February.
Delaying the removal allows Kouros to become eligible for judicial pension benefits when she reaches retirement age.
That is simply wrong. Kouros, who should have been removed from the bench four years ago, when her inability to run a court was first identified, will continue to be paid for another four months and then be eligible for retirement benefits.
The Supreme Court, by its own statements, is rewarding poor performance at the expense of the taxpayers.
The court said this week that Kouros "has proved either unable or unwilling to issue timely and documented decisions in the cases assigned to her, causing real-life consequences for those whose matters are in her hands."
That's hardly a ringing endorsement for staying on the public payroll.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the handling of the Kouros case isn't so much the money.
Most troublesome is that the state's highest court is telling the residents of Indiana that there is a double standard when it comes to fairness -- one for the members of the judiciary and another for everyone else.
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