Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, at rostrum, is applauded by Hoosier lawmakers after delivering her annual 'State of the Judiciary' address Jan. 12, 2022, to a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly. Provided image
The judicial branch of Indiana government is persevering amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and other societal challenges, because that's what the Indiana Constitution demands of the state's court system.
That's the message Chief Justice Loretta Rush and retiring Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David jointly delivered last week to Gov. Eric Holcomb and members of the Indiana House and Senate in Rush's eighth annual "State of the Judiciary" address.
"In many ways, courts have become the government emergency room for society’s worst afflictions. Substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, homelessness — the challenges brought to courtrooms each day are the same challenges facing your constituents," Rush said. "And, like you, we are determined to find solutions."
As an example, David pointed to the 118 problem-solving courts scattered in counties across the state that are providing a helping hand to veterans, drug addicts, the mentally ill, troubled families and others, rather than focusing on punishing crimes that sometimes result from those conditions.
"It has been my honor to witness hundreds of people graduate from these extraordinary programs ... You must experience it to really appreciate it," David said.
"Watch the very police officer and the person they arrested for drug use stand together and hug each other in tears and triumph. Or attend a veterans treatment court graduation where a service member — scarred by the experiences and trauma of service, sacrifice, and conflict — who was once willing to give their life for all of us, now has a new life, thanks to all of you. It just doesn’t get any better than that."
At the same time, Rush acknowledged the demands on judicial leadership are greater than ever due to a statewide breakdown in mental health care that's led many people with mental illness to languish in county jails, instead of receiving the treatment they need.
"Today, mental illness permeates nearly every type of case that comes before our judges. In fact, the criminal justice system is now a primary referral source for a person to obtain mental health treatment," Rush said.
"Police officers are not social workers, and jails are not treatment centers. And when we ask them to be, we compromise their core function of preserving public safety, which, in turn, puts everyone at risk."
To that end, Rush said the judiciary will convene a 92-county statewide summit Oct. 21 to enable local mental health leaders to collaborate with each other and state-level partners to begin developing responsible, cost-effective solutions that build on the crisis care promise of the new 988 national mental health hotline.
Rush said improving mental health services fit into her goal of modernizing jail management through a centralized system that she said will improve public safety by ensuring accurate criminal records, allowing judges to view real-time incarceration status, and alerting community agencies when a supervised individual is arrested.
"Sharing offender information between jails, courts, community corrections, probation, and all justice partners is vital to public safety and will give you information like you have never had before to guide your policy making," Rush said.
David noted Indiana already has shown with its unified court case management system that it can successfully modernize institutions through technology.
He said instead of tons of paper documents being printed, read, filed and stored at courthouses across the state, the Odyssey system last year provided Hoosier lawyers and citizens free access to more than 34 million court records, including some 140,000 new electronic filings submitted each week.
In that same vein, David said technology and other tools permitting most low-risk arrestees to be released without posting bail also are benefiting the state without endangering public safety.
David insisted no one wants to release a dangerous person back into the community. Yet, he said justice also demands a "constitutionally transparent system to protect due process and equal protection rights."
"Our goal is simple: to make sure that before trial, the right people are in jail for the right reasons," he said. "Nothing more complicated than that."
During the 25-minute speech, Rush and David touted the work of the courts in increasing public trust by bolstering equity and access, as well as strengthening Hoosier families through personalized assistance for abused and neglected children.
Rush also highlighted the court system's efforts to reduce Indiana's sky-high eviction rates by providing additional resources to landlords and tenants, including the launch of a housing court and the establishment of the Indiana Eviction Task Force.
"It is the rule of law and our respect for it that separates us from most of the rest of the world. It makes us the envy of most of the world and the enemy of some of the world. It is precious. It requires constant care and attention. It takes work and commitment to ensure that sacred phrase, 'and justice for all!'" David said.
"Together we are figuring out how to do better for our citizens, and that is indeed serving the public."
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