Claims that drug court participants in Clark County were jailed for months without cause and subjected to unauthorized searches and arrests by drug court staff have led the Indiana Judicial Center to suspend the problem-solving court in Jeffersonville.
A Clark County judge and his staff are accused of wrongful jailings, arrests and searches of drug court participants.
Problems in a southern Indiana drug court – including the jailing of multiple people for months without due process – have led to a formal request for a special prosecutor.
After evaluating the statutory provisions concerning sentencing, electronic monitoring and deferral programs, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled it was within the trial court’s discretion to deny a man credit time toward his sentence for time he spent on electronic monitoring while participating in a drug court program.
A Clark County woman improperly jailed more than 150 days was freed earlier this week when prosecutors discovered she was still being held after an order that she spend 48 hours in detention.
Allen Superior Court is, again, offering for public comment proposed changes to the fees for its alternative court programs.
A national tour highlighting the successes of drug courts and other problem-solving courts will make stops at two northern Indiana drug courts this month.
Advocates for alternative programs are asking the Indiana Legislature for funding.
Indiana House Bill 1016 proposes to let court staff provide some rehabilitative services and collect fees for them.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said a newly formed prescription drug abuse task force will examine whether special problem-solving courts may be a venue for fighting prescription painkiller abuse.
The Court Alcohol and Drug Program Advisory Committee and the Problem-Solving Courts Committee of the Judicial Conference of Indiana are seeking public comment on the new rules governing problem-solving courts and amendments to the court-administered drug and alcohol programs.
Drug courts in Delaware, Marion, Monroe, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Vigo counties will share $1 million from a Bureau of Justice Assistance Drug Court Discretionary Grant, the Indiana Supreme Court announced today. The award will help courts increase graduation rates and lower recidivism.
Tippecanoe Superior Judge Gregory J. Donat is the 2010 recipient of the American Judicature Society’s Kathleen M. Sampson Access to Justice Award. Judge Donat has worked to improve access to justice for everyone.
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a defendant that his due process rights were denied when his participation in a drug
court program was ended without giving him notice of a hearing, or allowing him to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
Noble Superior Judge Michael J. Kramer was nationally recognized for his work as judge of the Noble County Drug Court. Judge Kramer was named an Advocate of the Year at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America's National Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. He received the award at a luncheon Thursday.
A longtime Madison County judge died suddenly Wednesday. Judge David W. Hopper, 60, had served as a jurist for a total of 28 years.