Before the two Republican candidates for Kosciusko County Circuit Court judge took to answering a dozen questions, Kosciusko County Bar Association President Dana Leon explained what the Circuit Court does.
“Generally speaking, our Circuit Court generally handles - presently under the current caseload allocation - a variety of civil matters and felony criminal matters, excluding most family law and domestic relations and excluding misdemeanor cases,” she said. “That’s the current makeup of our Circuit Court. It also handles our Drug Court problem-solving court.”
After she gave a brief introduction of candidates Jack Birch and Matthew Buehler, one of the first questions asked them to explain their judicial philosophy for the voters.
“There are different parts of a judicial philosophy. I would say, from the standpoint of what people would normally think, I would probably describe myself as a strict constructionist. That means the Constitution and the legal statutes say what they say. The judge’s role is to take the facts that are presented, and the facts that he determines, and apply that law to those facts and make a decision based upon that,” Birch said in his allotted two minutes. “The judge’s job is not to create law or make new law. That’s for the legislature.”
Buehler said he would start any conversation about judicial philosophy with the word safety.
“I mean that in a number of senses. Most importantly, obviously, is to be certain that members of our community are safe from those who might mean to do them harm. That’s a big part of what the judge does,” he said. “However, in terms of straight philosophy, the most important qualities for a judge are always going to be impartiality, to be free from bias, to remain open-minded and decisive until all the facts are in front of them to make good, strong and informed decisions.”
Many practitioners in criminal practice believe it takes too long to resolve a case, according to another question. The candidates were asked what were their ideas to expedite criminal cases.
Buehler responded, “There are a number of ways that criminal cases proceed and wind through the courts. Some of them happen and are resolved very quickly, and others, obviously ... takes a while to resolve cases.”
Having practiced in many other counties, he said Kosciusko County is very unique in that the county “takes a sense of we need to resolve cases in a more expedited fashion. I suppose an easier way to say that is, some cases can resolve very quickly. Others obviously are very fact-sensitive and there is a lot of information that needs to be digested.”
He said most criminal cases do not take long to resolve and are resolved “reasonably quickly.” However, it is not always “just” to resolve criminal cases quickly as possibly and sometimes justice takes time.
Birch said he thinks our courts get a bad rap.
“I think, generally, most of our criminal cases do get resolved in a very timely fashion. There are things that need to be done in order to make sure that the process is fair to both sides. Everybody needs to have the information that is involved in a case so they can be adequately prepared and make proper decisions,” he said. “That’s not only the state, but that’s also from the defense standpoint.”
One of the things that the judge candidates alluded to was a shortage of attorneys in the state. That also means a shortage of public defenders in Kosciusko County. The candidates were asked how do they plan to address the issue if they are judge.
Birch stated, “The shortage of public defenders is getting to, in my opinion, to a critical stage in this county. We have had to outsource ... a large number of public defenders in our county are not practicing attorneys in Kosciusko County. We’ve had to go outside the county to get people to come in and do that job.
“We handle public defenders and compensation and structure differently than many other counties do. We’ve done it this way for a number of years,” Birch said. “I would like to see the courts consider other alternatives and structures for our public defender system.”
Buehler’s response was, “Truly, the best way to address the shortage of public defenders is to address the number of crimes being committed. The number of crimes being committed here in Kosciusko County almost exclusively ... are without fail always an outgrowth of drug use in our community. And, make no mistake, our law enforcement, our prosecuting attorney’s office, our courts, we’re all fighting on a two-front war. We’re trying to prosecute and take care of the suppliers and keep them from bringing it into the community. We’re also - and a big part of what the Circuit Court does - trying to help the drug offenders so that they don’t become repeat offenders.”
Another question asked the candidates how would they use technology in their courtroom.
“When it comes to the criminal cases, obviously, it becomes sort of difficult and I say that because a criminal case, people always have the absolute right to be there. Very seldom are you going to see a defendant or a defense attorney that’s going to say, ‘No, it’s OK. Go ahead and sentence my guy. We don’t need to be there for that.’ It doesn’t happen,” Buehler said. “So the use of technology in a courtroom, more specifically as it relates to the criminal docket, is simply going to be to the ease of use when it comes to the displaying of information.”
When it comes to the civil cases, he acknowledged that there are more possibilities to use technology.
From the perspective of a criminal docket, Birch disagreed with Buehler on the use of technology.
“There are ways, and there are many parts of a criminal case, that don’t require defendants to actually be in the courtroom or necessarily lawyers,” Birch said. “I have practiced in a number of counties surrounding us and that do video conferences for what we call the ‘not crucial’ stages.”
The final of the 12 questions simply asked the candidates why they are the best candidate to be the next Circuit Court judge. Current Judge Mike Reed is retiring at the end of this year.
Buehler said he’s the best candidate because of his “unique” experience.
“During my time in the prosecuting attorney’s office, I have prosecuted murders. I have prosecuted drug dealers. But not only that, not only have I punished the offenders - sought to punish the offenders - I have also spent so much of my time trying to help defenders that need the help. Folks that can be identified, folks that can say, ‘I want to change for the better,’” Buehler said, in part.
Birch said he has the experience in every area that the Circuit Court addresses in its caseload.
“I’ve been doing these matters for 30-plus years. I’ve been trying cases for all of that time. I’ve been trying since Matt was in high school,” he said. “... I’ve been handling criminal cases, I’ve been dealing with homeless people to people who have run multi-billion dollar businesses. I’ve dealt with all (segments) of society. I know how to deal with somebody who is at the bottom, the very bottom of their life at that point and try to help them get out of it. I’ve dealt with people who are in a dispute, and don’t have any idea of how they’re going to get through it or get the justice they think they’re entitled to.”
The May primary is May 7.