GREENE COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A new bill from the Indiana House has been proposed and it looks to change some court locations in Indiana.
House Bill 1144, authored by Representative Chris Jeter, proposes the addition of Superior and Magistrate Courts in more densely populated areas of Indiana.
However, after an amendment made by the Senate, the bill, if passed, would also reduce the number of courts in more rural areas of the state, including Superior Court in Greene County.
While Greene County would keep Circuit and Magistrate Court, it would lose its Superior Court judge and employees. That judge handles all misdemeanor cases, all level 6 felony cases, and half of the level 5 and above felony cases in the county.
Greene County Attorney Marvin Abshire said the loss of Superior Court would cause issues for both government employees and residents.
“Losing Superior Court would flood the Circuit Court and Magistrate with an additional 633 criminal cases”, Abshire said. “In addition to that, there’s the old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. When you add that many cases to the existing court system, it is going to dramatically slow down access to civil and criminal justice in the county.”
Abshire said Superior Court in Greene County also runs a rehabilitation program.
“Superior Court runs a therapeutic justice program, paid for by the opioid settlement funds”, Abshire said. “It’s not county money or state money. That program is beginning to show some real successes. Circuit Court with Magistrate alone will not be able to handle that program and handle the additional load.”
The amendment by the Senate was added last week, just before the bill was heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee. However, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw said they weren’t informed of the change until a mere few minutes before the hearing.
“It seems very, almost orchestrated, the complexity in which amendment 16 was drafted and only released minutes before the hearing on it”, Holtsclaw said. “That seems to suggest there were some behind the scenes dealings with trying to eliminate. They’re eliminating more judges than what are being created. We’re trying to, one, figure out what was really behind this amendment and, two, talk to those who may have some say in it.”
One of those people that has a say is State Representative Bruce Borders. He said he’s been doing everything he can to not allow this bill to pass.
“I’ve been on the phone, I’ve been emailing, I’ve been receiving emails and forwarding those on to the Speaker of the House and to our floor leader”, Borders said. “I’m going to share my concerns and the letters I have received from judges, prosecutors, deputy prosecutors, etc. with my caucus members and go to battle on behalf of the Greene County Superior Court.”
These changes will not take effect immediately if the law passes. House Bill 1144 would become effective in each county differently, based on the term of the sitting judge.
For Greene County, Judge Martin’s term ends on December 31 of 2026.
The Indiana Judicial Branch made a statement saying they conduct a weighted caseload study, and the most recent study shows that Indiana has about the right number of judges, but not necessarily in the right location.
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