Judicial Candidates Face Off For Votes
It is an unusual year for Kosciusko County courts as two judicial seats are opening up. It is also uncommon to have contests in the races, but this year, a total of six candidates are vying for the two open seats in Superior I and Superior II courts.
During a judicial forum last night, sponsored by the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce and the Kosciusko County Bar Association, all six candidates presented information on why they are seeking the bench seats and what makes each one the most qualified to gain the voters support.
Candidates seeking the Superior I bench are David Cates of Syracuse and Steve Harris and Chad Miner, both of Warsaw. Superior II candidates are Torrey Bauer and Mark Caruso of Warsaw and Tyler Haines of Leesburg.
The forum lasted two hours and included six questions that each candidate answered. Moderator for the event was retired Judge Rex Reed. Reed was the longest serving circuit court judge in Kosciusko County. He asked the approximately 100 people in attendance to consider the integrity, knowledge of the law, intelligence and ability to be unbiased of each candidate in casting their votes on May 6.
What follows is only a sampling of the questions that were asked of each candidate:
What are the specific aspects of the judicial position for which you are a candidate that motivated you to seek candidacy?
David Cates (Superior I): “Within the short time that I began practicing law I was asked to be a pro tem judge in Superior Court II actually. The first criminal court hearing I saw, I was the judge … I was hooked. I’ve served over 100 days as pro tem judge in all of our courts. I’ve served on any number of type of cases — juvenile cases, criminal cases, civil cases — I’ve done work from the bench with criminal initial hearings, plea hearings. I’ve done trials. I have done civil trials, small claims trials, and I’ve done juvenile trials including initial hearings and other aspects within that court. I was asked two years ago to run for Circuit Court judge. Superior Court I is the jurisdiction I wanted then and it’s the jurisdiction I want now. It is the jurisdiction that fits my background and expertise. It is my interest. The juvenile jurisdiction is something for which I’ve been preparing. I’ve been involved with kids throughout my career. I’ve coached for 12 or 13 years in middle school basketball … I’ve been involved with youth centers, day care boards. I’ve been involved with youth programs and I want to continue that in my professional career.”
Steve Harris (Superior I): “The reason I chose Superior Court I is that it is a court that hears … every type of case. It’s the juvenile court and, when it was early in my practice, I did a lot of juvenile matters and criminal matters and with my wife as a teacher, I took great satisfaction dealing with the youth and having some input as far as working through their problems. I chose to run for Superior Court I because I felt that was where my expertise was and also has the variety of different cases that I am familiar in dealing with.”
Chad Miner (Superior I): “My response would kind of parallel Steve’s. The breadth of Superior Court I is certainly one of the things that drew me to it. I enjoy learning new things, I like having an intellectual challenge and Superior Court I has the opportunity to deal with such a large variety of cases that it gives someone an opportunity for someone who, that if you’re a quick learner and knowledgeable about a variety of things, I think that’s a court that you really have the opportunity to utilize those abilities. And secondarily, as Steve said, with Superior Court I being the juvenile court, I just feel like that’s a tremendous opportunity to really help young people who are struggling and who, with a little bit of assistance, can maybe get back on the right track. I think that’s just a tremendous opportunity that that judge has to do some real good for the community.”
Torrey Bauer (Superior Court II): “Superior Court II is a court like Superior Court I that was created by the legislature and is a court of what’s called general jurisdiction. That means it’s entitled to handle every type of case that Superior Court I can handle. Currently is handles only misdemeanors, it is the only court in this county that is essentially a boutique court dealing primarily with just very small class of offenses. I think that needs to change. I think that needs to change in the sense that the court is underused, in my opinion, the number of cases going through there is far below the other three courts. I agree with Mr. Caruso that it can be streamlined, and there are specific ways that can be done to free up other court time by taking up other court cases whether they be domestic relations, civil cases and so doing that also frees up Superior Court I and Circuit Court which are the two courts handling the bulk of those cases and as a result of that it takes a long time to get those cases heard. So the primary reason why I’ve decided to run for Superior Court II is not because I want to continue to run a boutique misdemeanor court. I want to expand that court so that it begins taking in civil cases.”
Mark Caruso (Superior II): “My actual motivation was that I was deputy prosecutor assigned to Superior Court II for pretty close to four years. I was in that courtroom everyday from 8 in the morning to sometimes 5 some nights because the calendar is not the most efficiently run. It is typically an introductory court to a lot of people who may have their first traffic ticket or first brush with the law. I think people should be shown a lot of respect because they’re as scared as anybody when they walk in the courtroom the first time. The other motivating factor is that I was actually looking at the way things are run in Allen County; how quickly cases can be resolved there and I think we can do a little bit of that here. Work with the people, work with the clerk’s office, work with the crime victims … and work with our others courts — drug court, etc. — to make this whole experience better for everyone in the community, not just the lawyers.
Tyler Haines (Superior Court II): “When I was down in Indianapolis wrapping up law school, I began working and interning with the Marion County Public Defender’s office and we were put into misdemeanor courts and I enjoyed it so much I continued with it, even after finishing law school. Like Mark said, it’s the court most people will probably see in their lifetime, but I want people to have a respectful experience in that court. I want them to see that things can be run fairly and I want them to feel like they were treated with respect and that’s kind of the goal that I have. I think Judge (James) Jarrette has done that and I’d like to keep running the court as well as he has.”
Indiana is going through a reform of the criminal code and it’s imperative that we look for alternative sentencing measures. As a judge, you look over the criminal information and you make the determination on what is a fair bond amount. What are your primary concerns and what do you think on reasonable bonds?
David Cates (Superior I): “One of the questions I was asked on the trail, if you will, is, these violent offenders, these major offenders, why can’t we just set a real high bond and keep them in jail? Well, there is this thing called the Constitution and people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The bond has a purpose and the purpose is to ensure that they will show up for trial or court as scheduled. We can utilize the surety bond for the exact same reasons that Torrey talked about: to make sure those people show up. With regards to the criminal code, I’m just going to say, make use of Work Release. Let’s let the people pay the county for their sentences. With regards to the juvenile system through the schools, I will tell you that the schools I work with now, they have a very productive, positive relationship with the probation department and they are able to work with the current probation officers in that regard. Part of keeping kids on the straight and narrow is providing them the education so that they can become good and production citizens to society. It has to all come together and it can’t all fall upon the schools; it can’t fall all upon the probation department. There has to be collaboration in the system.”
Steve Harris (Superior I): “With these new sentencing guidelines that are coming there’s going to be a lot of stress on maybe our jail system because of the new sentencing guidelines and given the judges more discretion, there’s been some questions on the funding and more pressure on our local jail system versus reducing the state population. I think what’s going to be important for whoever is elected is to be a coordination between not only the prosecutor but also the sheriff’s department and working through these new guidelines. As far the bonds/bail, I guess I would defer. I haven’t practiced in the criminal law area for quite a few years and I think the answers that several panelists have given have been good answers.”
Chad Miner (Superior I): “With respect to changes in the criminal code, it’s obviously been a while since our legislature looked at some of those issues and I think that’s a positive thing that they’re kind of trying to modernize and make the judicial system so that it’s a little more effective in accomplishing the things we would like to see it do. With respect to bond amounts, I think we’re coming into a court that has been well run for a number of years. I would take a conservative approach and probably kind of continue to do what has been already done in that court with respect to bonding and then possibly, over time, as things needed to be tweaked a little bit then I would probably look at those at that point.”
Torrey Bauer (Superior II): “From the alternative sentencing standpoint, there’s been some huge strides made here in the county, particularly dealing with the drug and alcohol issues. Twenty-three years ago, there wasn’t Serenity House, there wasn’t drug and alcohol programs and those have had great success, but primarily it provides individuals an opportunity to make the choice to get out of it. Just running through the drug/alcohol program doesn’t mean the problem is solved, but as least we’re giving them an opportunity to make the right choice. From a bond schedule, I’m not in favor of cash bonds primarily because if they don’t show up, you’re then tasked with having the sheriff’s department to find them. If they pay the bond to the bondsman, that’s on the bondsman. That’s their job.”
Mark Caruso (Superior II): “The second one is near and dear to my heart. As a defense attorney my job is to get the lowest bond possible, but as a former prosecutor I have a different outlook on that. The criminal code reform; we’ve got great things in place right now. It’s still developing, but I definitely want too utilize those for probation, drug and alcohol programs, we’ve got Hoss (Smith) here in town who runs [Serenity House], we’ve also got Rose Home. There’s plenty of things out there because drug use, drug abuse doesn’t only affect the person, it affects the whole community and I think that’s a big problem. I’d like to see that utilized. Bond schedule: In Allen County every domestic battery case gets a protective order as part of the bond. I’d like to see something like that … added as a condition to the bond. I’d like to see bonds of violent offenders, repeat offenders treated differently than the first time guy who walks in there. I think a judge has the duty to look at each case and adjust the bond, not just keep a bond schedule for the average Joe. There’s got to be different treatment for different people.”
Tyler Haines (Superior II): “One of the things changing is there will be like six levels of felonies. I think it’s a good thing. I think, from my perspective, from what I see, it’s going to hit the sexual crimes a lot harder and that’s what the community wants. It’s going to make it a little tougher on other people in that court. Good time credit changes will affect some things … and we’ll have to take those into consideration on sentencings, too. Bail schedule and bonds: I like the idea of cash bonds, I’ve never been a real big fan of surety bonds. If the court gets a high enough cash bond, that’s enough to cover court fines and costs.
What are your experiences and strengths that you bring to the table that give you the best qualifications to handle this position:
David Cates (Superior I): “Every individual up here is honorable; every individual up here is someone who would treat anyone who comes before them with respect. No doubt about that in my mind. But I also have to agree that trial experience, courtroom experience, experience being in the trenches … I believe is something that is critical in making someone a good trial court judge. I’ve been there, done that … I also like to think that life experience is important. I will treat people with respect and I will make fair and informed decisions within the law, within the Constitution. I’m an honor graduate from law school; I have some legal knowledge and have been involved in hundreds of cases. I’m also a mediator and believe that allowing those people to come together to reach an agreement will be beneficial.”
Steve Harris (Superior I): “I would say my two strengths would be, 1) I take pride in doing my work timely in my private practice. I try to complete my work in a timely basis. When a client calls me, I try in the same day to return phone calls … and I think it’s important to not waste time. The other strength is, as Dave said, my experience. I’ve practiced for 26 years and I’ve practiced in most every area of law — criminal, juvenile, all different civil proceedings, guardianships, estate transactions — and I think it’s important for a judge to have that broad knowledge of the law and I think I’ve prepared myself to serve those responsibilities.
Chad Miner (Superior I): “I think I probably have to agree with the other guys on a lot of these things. Certainly treating people with dignity and respect and being fair and upholding the highest degrees of integrity are all things that need to be done. I think those are qualities that any of the six of us would bring to that. Obviously experience is another important area. I’ve been practicing in a number of different areas a well and I think beyond that, just the general dedication and commitment I feel very strongly about making the right decisions to help make the community a better place. I think my dedication, commitment and work ethic are important as well.”
Torrey Bauer (Superior II): “It may come as a news flash to most people, but most attorneys are good guys. Every single person up here is a good guy and strive to be fair and honest and forthright. But I think it goes beyond that. To be a trial court judge, you have to marry to that trial court experience and I think that experience has to be extensive and it has to be in both criminal and civil law, specifically in Superior Court II where changes need to be made. I think in that regard, I bring to the table 23 years of legal practice that has not been limited to anything other than the law. I have tried criminal cases I have tried civil cases, juvenile cases, jury trials, evidentiary hearings; there’s not a hearing I haven’t been involved in. In over 23 years of doing that, you develop something which I call a 3-dimensional view. It’s not just looking at a piece of paper … it’s not that simple. I think that real world experiencing, practicing law from the benches is what prepares you to be a judge. I believe in this race, in Superior Court II, I’m uniquely qualified to do that.”
Mark Caruso (Superior II): “I’ve been a clerk for one of the best criminal court judges in the state of Indiana. It was my job to review briefs from both parties and recreate the whole thing for the judge. It was my job to figure out how she should rule and then she could rule from the bench or tell me I’m completely wrong. The other strength I have is that I worked in that court every day for 4 years almost and know how that court operates and I know what works and what doesn’t work. I know what people expect from a judge. Third, I’ve got to serve as judge pro tem primarily in Superior Court III and 99 percent of that was civil work and, I kind of enjoy it.”
Tyler Haines (Superior II): “My demeanor is my greatest strength. I won’t favor; I will listen to both sides. I won’t be forced into judgement. I also believe that if I make a mistake, I’m not afraid to look at it and admit that I did. I know the people of the community and I believe that is probably my greatest qualification, that I get along with everyone.”
Primary elections are being held Tuesday, May 6.