The Indiana Supreme Court is partnering with law enforcement, clerks and domestic violence groups to help better protect victims of abuse.  Elkhart and Saint Joseph Counties are leading this effort by serving as pilot counties for an expanded protective order registry.  Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr. will be joined by Saint Joseph County Prosecutor Mike Dvorak and Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill, local judges and victim advocates for special news briefings to describe the importance of the expanded registry.  Justice Sullivan will travel to both Saint Joseph and Elkhart Counties to thank court leaders for their commitment to the registry and answer press questions.

Saint Joseph and Elkhart Counties are serving as pilot counties for a new public access component of the protective order registry.  The expanded registry will allow a victim to complete required forms online with the help of a domestic violence advocate.  Once the forms are completed, they can be printed and taken to the county clerk for filing.  The clerk can then focus on getting the information to a judge to review.  When a judge issues a protective order the information is sent to local, state, and federal law enforcement. This pilot system is expected to save time and increase efficiency for the courts.  It will also allow a person requesting a protective order to start the process with the help of a trained domestic violence advocate.

In 2007, Saint Joseph County had 367 new protective orders filed and Elkhart County had 508 new orders filed during that same period.  Under the old system, those hundreds of requestors obtained their protective orders by going to the Saint Joseph or Elkhart County Clerk’s office where they filed their petitions requesting a protective order.  The process can include waiting in line and waiting for clerk staff to help them properly complete the paperwork. 

The expanded registry is being piloted in Elkhart and Saint Joseph Counties and six other counties across the state including Marion, Grant, Madison, Wabash, Tippecanoe, and Allen.  It is being implemented by the Supreme Court’s Division of State Court Administration Judicial Technology and Automation Committee (JTAC).  Justice Sullivan, who Chairs JTAC, believes the expanded registry is one of the most significant accomplishments of the Committee, “We are helping to save lives with this partnership.  This new public access function is being added after suggestions from domestic violence advocates and local clerks.  By working closely with Indiana State Police, Elkhart and Saint Joseph County domestic violence advocates, and our state legislature we have developed a system that will do more to protect victims.”

Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard spoke about the importance of the upgrade in the 2009 State of the Judiciary, “Improving the effectiveness of domestic abuse protective orders is not something you postpone in hard times, it’s something you race to accomplish.”  It is a sentiment echoed by Laura Berry Berman, the Executive Director of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence who explained, “We are strong supporters of the registry and want people to understand this is more than a technology upgrade—it will allow our volunteers to give victims the assistance they need and link them to community resources.”  Elkhart and Saint Joseph County domestic violence advocates will attend the press briefings to answer questions about the process.

The Indiana Supreme Court received a $135,235 grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to improve the electronic Protection Order Registry.  The money has helped pay for the development of the public access site.  The Protective Order Registry is used in 91 counties.  More information is available at www.in.gov/judiciary/jtac/programs/poregistry.html.