Court of Appeals Holds Oral Argument in Dispute Over Juvenile Funding at the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville

	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 01, 2008	Contact: Maura Pierce (317) 234-4859
	COURT OF APPEALS HOLDS ORAL ARGUMENT IN DISPUTE OVER JUVENILE FUNDING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA, EVANSVILLE Case Originates in Shelby County

The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear oral argument in Marion County and St. Joseph County, Indiana v. State of Indiana on Thursday, April 17th at 2:00 p.m. CT in Carter Hall, 233 University Center, at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. A panel of Chief Judge John G. Baker, Judge Carr L. Darden, and Judge Melissa S. May will hear the case on appeal from Shelby Superior Court.

The case centers on who must pay to operate juvenile detention facilities – the State or individual counties. Marion and St. Joseph counties brought an action against the State after the State tried to recover from Indiana counties some $75 million it spent to operate juvenile detention facilities. The Court will determine whether the trial court erred in entering a decision favoring the State on the grounds that the statute allowing the State to recover such expenses is constitutional, that that counties lacked standing to bring the action, and that the action was barred by the statute of limitations. Arguing for the appellants, Marion County and St. Joseph County, will be Geoffrey Slaughter of Sommer Barnard in Indianapolis. Deputy Attorney General David Steiner will argue for the State.

The Court hears oral argument at venues across the state to enable Hoosiers to learn about the judicial branch. Members of the audience may ask questions about the judicial process in Indiana following the submission of the case. Marion County and St. Joseph County v. State will be the Court’s seventh visit to the University of Southern Indiana and its eighth to Evansville in the past eight years. The Court has heard more than 200 oral arguments “on the road” at law schools, colleges, high schools and county courthouses since its centennial in 2000-2001.

The Indiana Court of Appeals is the state’s second-highest court. It reviews appeals from trial court decisions; a decision of the Indiana Court of Appeals is final unless granted further review by the Indiana Supreme Court. The majority of appeals filed in Indiana are decided by the Court of Appeals.

The 15 judges on the Court of Appeals issue more than 2,800 written opinions each year, sitting in three-judge panels. For more information about the Court of Appeals, visit www.in.gov/judiciary/appeals. For the Court’s “Appeals on Wheels” initiative, as well as additional information on Marion County and St. Joseph County v. State, visit http://www.in.gov/judiciary/appeals/arguments.html.

Indiana Courts www.IN.gov/judiciary