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Madison County Rules: LR48-TR53-19 OFFICE STAFF, REFEREES, MASTER COMMISSIONERS, SENIOR JUDGES, AND MAGISTRATE

What does this Rule have to do with family law in Madison County, Indiana? A lot - I think. This Rule sets out who will hear a case and why. More often than not, the Judges do not hear family law cases. The Judges of Superior Court One and Three have a large criminal docket, and those cases must go first. Madison Superior Court Two Judge deals with a juvenile court docket instead of a criminal docket. All of which leaves to commissioners and Senior Judges the family law cases and they have all developed a strong familiarity with this area of the law.

(All of this is also true of other counties, but this Rule does not apply to them.)

As for the Rule itself:

A. Each presiding Judge shall appoint appropriate office staff pursuant to statute. If a Judge shall appoint a Commissioner, Referee or Master Commissioner, then said Judge shall define said responsibility of said appointee. A Commissioner, Referee or Master Commissioner shall not have jurisdiction over or be allowed to conduct hearings of any type in matters filed in divisions of Superior Court in which they are not employed.

COURT COMMISSIONERS
B. Preliminary matters may be scheduled on a Commissioner?s calendar. There shall be no automatic right to have preliminary matters set on the calendar of the presiding Judge or removed from the Commissioner?s calendar to the Judge?s calendar.

SENIOR JUDGES
C. Senior Judges who are assigned to a court shall serve the court as deemed appropriate by the Court's presiding Judge. Said service may include assignment to specific cases, to specialized cases or to all cases placed on the Senior Judge?s calendar (See also Supreme Court Administrative Rule 5).

COUNTY COURT JUDGES AS COMMISSIONERS
D. Judges of the Madison County Court shall be appointed Civil and Criminal Commissioners for the Madison Superior Court. Said commissioners shall be authorized to sit in any division and shall devote such time as their calendars will permit to the work of the Superior Court.

MAGISTRATE

E. Pursuant to I.C. 33-33-48-7.5, the Judges of the Madison Superior Court shall appoint a full-time, state-paid Magistrate and assign to said Magistrate such duties as they may designate from time to time.

For all of Madison County's local rules, follow this link.

Full post as published by Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog on January 09, 2009 (boomark / email).