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EDITORIALS - State Supreme Court to Joan Kouros: Pay up
NWI Times
Dec 17, 2004
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/state-supreme-court-to-joan-kouros-pay-up/article_1a9bf599-d14c-5ff8-b7a5-897f5d655ac7.html
The issue: Judicial fairness
Our opinion: The justices did her a favor that allows the soon-to-be deposed Lake County judge to collect her pension. It is time for her to repay the favor
It is payback time for soon-to-be deposed Lake Criminal Court Judge Joan Kouros. The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered Kouros to pay for the cost of the proceedings that removed her from her bench in the Lake County Government Center.
The $11,438.82 tab breaks down this way: $7,770 for three special masters' fees; $1,880 in court reporter fees' and $1,788.82 for investigation and litigation expenses.
The court ordered her removal Oct. 12, after nearly four years of investigating how she ran her courtroom. Lawyers complained they were not getting their fees in a timely manner. Jail inmate transfers were not done because Kouros was slow in completing routine paperwork. There was a backlog of hundreds of cases awaiting her signature on decisions made months earlier. The justices removed her because she failed to manage her caseload or provide them with the information needed to monitor her performance.
The justices did her a favor by keeping her on paid suspension until Feb. 25, when her removal is official. That way, she remains eligible for the minimum judicial pension benefits.
It is only justice that she repay the favor -- all $11,438.82 of it.
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