John Hurley Advocates for Judge Magistrate

14 January 2020

Photo by Unsplash | Bill Oxford

John Hurley Advocates for Judge Magistrate

Spencer County Deserves Judge Magistrate

The citizens of Spencer County deserve a Judge Magistrate to expedite fair and speedy trials. Currently, Spencer County has one circuit judge available. This judge has a caseload 47% higher than the recommended amount according to courts.in.gov. This ranks Spencer County 3rd in severity of need as of April 2019 and the highest ranked county to have only one judge available. A new magistrate position must be allowed by the State Legislature and is normally propelled by a State Legislator serving the county. According to an article appearing in The Indiana Lawyer, Spencer County presented its case to a study committee, but no action was taken by the area legislators. This occurred as counties ranked lower on the need list and already having multiple judges were approved. Additionally, Gibson, Hamilton, Jennings, St. Joseph, and Lake Counties, all ranked lower in need than Spencer County and all having multiple judges, will be up for approval this session. The 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1, Section 12 of the Indiana Constitution guarantee the right to a speedy and public trial. I echo the calls of local officials for our current State Legislators to carry or amend legislation and provide a Judge Magistrate for Spencer County. As our current legislators will likely ignore these efforts, I ask for your vote in 2020 to deliver the Constitutional Rights all Hoosiers deserve.

John Hurley
Candidate for State Representative
Indiana District 75