Amanda Matlock, Pendleton Lapel Times-Post Staff Writer


   Pendleton’s seven-year-old town court might be in for a rough ride if a new state draft bill eventually were to become state law. The Indiana State Senate soon could consider a bill that would require all judges, even at the municipal level, to be attorneys. 

    The Indiana Commission of Courts, which is comprised of four state senators, four state representatives and five lay members, met Oct. 15 to discuss whether to recommend preliminary draft bill 3437, which would require city and town judges to be attorneys under state law. 

    Senator Tim Lanane, who’s District 25 includes Pendleton, is a member of the Indiana Commission of Courts, which he described as a “study committee,” one established by the Indiana General Assembly to research, report and make recommendations on court-related matters. 

    The committee recommended the bill to require all judges be attorneys 7-1, and Lanane was the one member who did not support the bill. 

    “Yes, I voted against it,” Lanane said. “I think we need to hear more from our cities and towns before it’s passed into law.” 

    Lanane added that he can think of several courts this new law would directly affect. 

    “Just in Madison County, I know it would affect Elwood, Alexandria and Pendleton,” Lanane said. “All three of those towns have non-attorney judges.” 

    He said the real issue with the law is that the Indiana Constitution requires elected officials to reside within town limits. 

    “What occurred to me is that we might be putting those town courts out of business,” Lanane said. “I understand the rationale behind it, which is to make sure that courts have competent, qualified individuals running them. But I don’t know if you have to be an attorney to handle traffic and minor cases.” 

    Lanane said he also was concerned about the impact at a county level if town courts were forced to close. 

    “There is a belief that there might be too many courts in Indiana, and this bill might be driven by members of the judiciary courts,” Lanane said. “I understand that many members just want to do away with city courts, but they knew that would be difficult to get done, and this was the next step. If we get rid of these city and town courts, the thousands of cases they handle a year will be transferred to Madison County. It going to cause a large backlog.” 

    Lanane said he expects the bill to be introduced in the first couple weeks of January and, if passed, could take effect as early as July 1. 

    He added that not all of the details have been worked out, but the bill could
include a grandfather clause that would allow current non-attorney judges to finish their terms. 

    Judge George Gasparovic is one of the non-attorney judges that would be directly affected by this bill. 

    “I established this court,” Gasparovic said. “I’ve been here for seven years.” 

    Gasparovic said when he heard the Town of Pendleton might start a court, he researched the position. 

    “Before I decided to run I spoke with many attorneys,” Gasparovic said. “Many felt that it would not be an issue for a non-attorney to run because we deal with a restricted part of the law.” 

    Gasparovic said Pendleton’s town court deals only with traffic violations, infractions and misdemeanors. 

    “We’re divorced from felonies and other major crimes,” Gasparovic said. “We see traffic violations and cases like driving under the influence, conversion (theft) and battery.” 

    Judge Gasparovic can sentence people to up to one year in jail, a sentence he said rarely is used. 

    “While we do hand out suspended sentences to many people,” Gasparovic said. “Real jail time is a last resort.” 

    Gasparovic added that he also is concerned for courts at a county level if Pendleton’s court is closed. 

    “There would be a tremendous flood of cases to other courts,” Gasparovic said. “They would really have to get ready.” 

    The Pendleton town court sees more than 10,000 infraction cases, more than 800 misdemeanor cases and more than 300 violations of town ordnances cases each year. 

    “For the more complex legal situations like felony cases, I agree that attorneys are superior choices,” Gasparovic said. “But in this situation, the proper person with organization skills can do the job as well as an attorney. 

    The Pendleton Town Court is currently one of three courts in Madison County with non-attorney judges; the other two are in Elwood and Alexandria. 

    Edgewood is the only town court in the county with an attorney as judge. 

    Gasparovic added that out of 75 town courts in the state, 35-40 have non attorney judges. 

    Pendleton Town Council President Don Henderson said the outlook of the town court is bleak if the bill is passed. 

    “At that point it would almost be prohibitive to have a court,” Henderson said. “You would have to pay more for that service, and it would be very questionable whether or not we could continue. If this were mandated by the state, our town court would most likely be dissolved.” 

    Henderson said Judge Gasparovic is paid between $25,000-27,000 a year.