Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
"Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye!" rang out from old Circuit Courtroom in the Kosciusko County Courthouse Thursday afternoon in what could be described as a traveling road show of sorts.
Actually, three justices of the Indiana Court of Appeals heard an oral argument from the attorneys involved in a civil lawsuit decided last year in an Elkhart County courtroom. The case, involving a man who was convicted in a drunk driving death, is being appealed by the defense on the basis that the punitive damage amount awarded to a surviving passenger in the man's car is too high.
The defendant, Matthew Stroud, was 17 years old - between his junior and senior years in high school - at the time of the July 23, 1996, accident.
He has since served a term in prison and in work release as part of his sentence, and the criminal portion of this case is not in question.
Among those in the audience of the court were more than 100 Warsaw Community High School students, attending from history, government and economics classes to observe the workings of an actual court hearing.
"This is a real case involving real people," Judge Melissa Mattingly-May told the students. "This isn't something we've made up for you."
The defendant/appellant attorney, Robert Sanders, argued before the judges that the punitive damage award of $500,000 on top of the $1,381,500 compensatory damages charged to Matthew Stroud and the $100,000 compensatory damages paid by Stroud's mother, Margaret Stroud, for her liability in the matter, were inappropriate. Sanders said he contends that no punitive damages are appropriate or, in the alternative, that the amount is excessive. Also, during pendency of the court action, the award is accruing interest and, since the Sept. 12, 2000, judgment was entered after a bench trial, the amount now due in punitive damages exceeds $546,000.
John Ulmer, one of the two attorneys arguing on behalf of the victim in the case, pointed out that punitive damages are intended to punish and deter people from committing the same sort of mistakes. "This group of high school students certainly should be concerned," he said, since they were being told that a drinking and driving incident could cost them more than $1 million.
During the oral argument, each side was allowed 20 minutes to present its information. The appellant attorney was then allowed a 10-minute rebuttal.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the appellate judges entertained questions from the more than 20 local attorneys and judges in attendance. More than a dozen court staff members also sat in on the hearing.
Mattingly-May was appointed to the Indiana Court of Appeals from Vanderburgh County in 1998 and was the senior judge in attendance Thursday. Also hearing the argument were Judge Paul Mathias of Allen County and Judge Michael Barnes of St. Joseph County. Both were appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2000.
No decision was made in the case before the judges, and Mattingly-May said the matters are decided "in a timely fashion." Typically, the turnaround time on a case for which all the evidence is before the judges is about two months. Mattingly-May said this case will require discussion and, possibly, additional research before a decision is handed down.
There are 15 judges on the Indiana Court of Appeals and the cases - 60 percent of which are criminal matters - are passed out in a "blind draw," with the next judge in line getting whatever type of case that comes up. Each of the 15 judges also writes 140 to 150 opinions each year and votes on another 450 cases from a panel.
The occasion for the traveling courtroom is the 100th anniversary of the Indiana Court of Appeals. It was made possible by invitation of the Kosciusko County Bar Association and takes place this year in various venues across the state.
"We enjoy doing this," Mattingly-May said. "If you ask us, we will come."
