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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA proposal to amend the Indiana Constitution to open the pool of attorneys available to serve as town and city court judges unanimously cleared a Statehouse committee Wednesday morning.
House Joint Resolution 1 was approved by the Legislature last year. But as a constitutional amendment, it must clear two separate sessions of General Assembly before voters get a chance to vote on the change in a referendum.
“It really will be helpful in small town America,” said the resolution’s author Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron.
The Indiana Constitution currently requires a city or town court judge to reside in the city where the court is located. The resolution would allow the judges to live in the county in which the town is located.
Aylesworth gave an example to the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee in which there was a town court vacancy in Porter County and the Indiana Supreme Court had to appoint an attorney from different town to serve as judge.
The appointed attorney had to rent an apartment to have residency in that town so he could be the judge, Aylesworth said.
Indiana has 54 city and town court judges.
The resolution, which would apply to the state’s 54 city and town court judges, is now headed to the House floor for consideration. The measure also must clear the Senate to become eligible for a voter referendum in 2026.
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