More on Small Claims Court Judge's Suit Against Drummer

The Indiana Law Blog has posted a copy of the complaint attorney Norman Reed filed on behalf of Center Township Small Claims Court Judge Paula Lapossa (D) against Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer (D) for interfering in the court's hiring decisions and failing to provide adequate court space and supplies to operate the small claims court, which has more than 11,500 litigants who annually utilize the court.

According to the complaint, it has been the practice of the court to pay a pro tempore judge $100 per court session since 2002. Although the Trustee's office paid the pro tempore judge on numerous occasions until this year, he stopped making payments for the pro tempore judge's services in 2006. The newly-elected small claims court judge, Michelle Scott, is the pro tempore judge who Drummer has refused to pay. He has refused to pay her $2,200 according to the complaint, as well as a language interpretor the court pays $100 per session to help with non-English-speaking litigants. Lapossa is seeking an order against Drummer to pay the fees owed to the pro tem judge and the interpretor.

The complaint lays out grievances it has with Drummer's handling of court personnel. It notes that the small claims court judge is responsible for the court employees' conduct under the Code of Judicial Conduct. The Trustee, however, hires court clerks without consulting the judge on the person's qualifications, training, promotion or discipline.

Judge Lapossa complains that one of the court's clerks sought a seat on the city-county council after informing Drummer but without notifying her. The employee did not believe she had to advise Judge Lapossa of her activities because she believed her employer was the trustee and not the court. Judge Lapossa insisted Drummer transfer the employee out of her court because of the obvious violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct posed by the employee's campaign. Drummer refused to take Lapossa's word that the employee's conduct violated the Code. He refused to transfer the employee until Lapossa produced a written opinion on the issue from the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Lapossa is seeking an injunction to prevent Drummer from hiring, supervising and disciplining the court's clerks and a declaratory judgment holding that she as the small claims court judge has such power.

Lapossa also complained that Drummer made her draft a letter specifying a clerk's failure to perform her job before he would consider disciplinary action against her. "With a caseload of nearly 12,000 cases each year, the Court does not have the time to comply with such demands of the Trustee," the complaint reads. She complains that the trustee "failed to provide the court with proper equipment." As an example, she says the Trustee replaced a "malfunctioning printer" with a "used printer." The Trustee refused to provide the court with a check printer for payment of garnishment orders, a label printer for labeling files and office dividers to provide some privacy for court employees. The Trustee does not consult the court in preparing its budget, or allow it to present a budget to the township board.

The complaint raises the issue of inadequate court space for housing the court's six clerks, bailiff, supplies, files, court room, office space and judge's private office. The court is currently furnished 1,615 square feet in the basement of the City-County Building. The space is inadequate, according to Lapossa, to provide court personnel "with productive office space" or "conference space to engage in discovery or resolve disputes" like every other small claims court in Marion County. The complaint seeks an order allowing the court to order its own equipment and supplies for payment by the Trustee.

Lapossa's complaint relies on the separation of powers doctrine in support of her claim that the Trustee is interfering in the ability of the court "to operate independently, freely and with absolute integrity." The complaint cites a 1966 Supreme Court decision, Carlson v. State, for the proposition that the Trustee cannot withhold funds to hamper and interfere with the small claims court.

It's interesting that Drummer is being so tight with money when it comes to the small claims court, which is largely self-supporting because of the fees paid by litigants, but he has plenty of money for all his pet projects. An IBJ investigative story last month disclosed the fact that Drummer has amassed over $12 million in real estate, which is largely unused or used for purposes other than carrying out the township's statutory duties. The IBJ report also disclosed that Center Township is sitting on over $11 million in a bank account.

It makes no sense for the township to continue paying rent to the county to lease the inadequate space in the City-County Building when it could have easily accommodated the court by relocating it to the Julia Carson Government Center. Instead, Drummer illegally leased out space to political cronies, which could have been used by the court, so they could put a bar in the government center. When do people finally say enough with Drummer and call for his removal from office? And isn't it about time for Prosecutor Carl Brizzi to announce some findings of his own investigation into the Center Township Trustee's Office?