Purpose | Feedback | Documents | Pilot Projects | Members | Staff Contact | Subcommittees
Purpose
The Innovation Committee was established by Supreme Court order to:
- analyze the research on justice reform
- assess the impact of reform efforts in other states
- identify, map, and analyze commonalities and differences in subject matter and process in criminal, civil, family, and child welfare justice systems
- identify innovative strategies, such as technology, to manage different case types
- develop specialized procedures for different types of cases involving differing levels of complexity
- evaluate the potential and actual impacts of specialized procedures
- launch pilot projects to test procedures and determine the scalable value of those procedures
- collaborate with and support the Coalition for Court Access (CCA) in areas where the Initiative’s work overlaps with the CCA’s objectives
Members will make recommendations to the Indiana Supreme Court for best practices surrounding Indiana’s judicial system structures and procedures.
Feedback
Let the Innovation Committee know about your ideas for how we can improve your experience in Indiana’s courts. Complete a 5-minute survey to provide your feedback.
Documents
Reports
Regulatory reform pilot
To further the objectives of the Commission on Indiana's Legal Future, which aims to combat the state's lawyer shortage, and responding to that Commission’s interim report, the Supreme Court directed the Innovation Committee to establish the initial parameters of a regulatory sandbox program.
Read the regulatory reform pilot report
Initial reports
The committee was directed to provide written reports in 2021 and 2022, with findings and recommendations, to the Supreme Court. The Civil Litigation Taskforce, Family Law Taskforce, and Technology Working Group submitted reports to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Articles
- "Ready for Liftoff" (Indiana Court Times) – about the creation of the Indiana Innovation Initiative by Chief Innovation Officer Robert Rath
- "No Mountain Too High: Innovation Groups Explore How Courts Can Be Better" (Indiana Court Times) – about the first reports submitted to the Court by Chief Public Information Officer Kathryn Dolan
- "Civil Litigation Taskforce Considers Recommendations to Assist Self-Represented Litigants" (Indiana Court Times) – about the types of innovations considered in civil cases by Judge Kimberly Dowling
Minutes
Pilot Projects
Members
The Innovation Committee was established as a standing Administrative Rule 4 Committee on July 7, 2023.
Hon. Sam Conrad
Adams Superior Court
Bernice Corley
Indiana Public Defender Council
Hon. Steve Creason
Marion Superior Court
Mary DePrez
Office of Judicial Administration
Chuck Dunlap
Indiana Bar Foundation
Aaron Hood
Office Judicial Administration
Hon. Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court
Hon. Dustin Houchin
Washington Superior Court
Prof. William Henderson
Maurer School of Law
Hon. Andrew Hopper
Madison Circuit Court
Hon. Justin McAdam
Indiana Tax Court
Hon. Derek Molter, Chair
Indiana Supreme Court
Chris Naylor
Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council
Mag. Timothy Ormes
Lake Superior Court
Hon. James B. Osborn
Marion Superior Court
Alexandria Hanauer Pittman
IU Health
Robert Rath
Office of Judicial Administration
Hon. Stephen Scheele
Indiana Court of Appeals
Joseph Skeel
Indiana State Bar Association
Brad Skolnik
Office of Judicial Administration
Hon. Richard Stalbrink, Jr.
LaPorte Superior Court
Hon. Leanna Weissmann
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kate Mead, Process Improvement Analyst
Indiana Office of Innovation
katelyn.mead@courts.in.gov
Subcommittees
The Innovation Committee established three subgroups to carry out its work. The Family Law Taskforce and Technology Working Group submitted their reports in March 2021, and the Civil Litigation Taskforce issued its report in February 2022. The Family Law Taskforce continues to meet to implement the recommendations outlined in their report.
New subcommittees are being created under the auspices of the Innovation Committee. The current subcommittees are:
Family Law Taskforce
Hon. Elizabeth Tavitas, Chair
Indiana Court of Appeals
Abbie Bush
Indiana Bar Foundation
Debra Lynch Dubovich
Levy & Dubovich
Lindsay Faulkenberg
Kids Voice of Indiana
Hon. William Fee
Steuben Superior Court
Hon. Alicia Gooden
Marion Superior Court
Leslie Craig Henderzahs
Church, Church, Hittle & Antrim
Michael Jenuwine
Notre Dame Law School
Kelly Lonnberg
Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC
Dr. Jill Miller
Northwest Psychological Services, P.C.
Hon. Lakshmi Reddy
Vigo Superior Court
Dr. Brittany Rudd
University of Illinois at Chicago
Kim Spindler
Department of Child Services
Hon. Catherine Stafford
Monroe Circuit Court
Tara Tauber
Tauber Law Offices
Jacob Taulman
Jasper County Prosecutor
Scott Wylie
Pro Bono Indiana
Staff Contact
Leslie Dunn, Deputy Director
Children and Families Division
Indiana Office of Court Services
leslie.dunn@courts.in.gov
Online Dispute Resolution Subcommittee
The ODR subcommittee will analyze the current landscape of online dispute resolution across relevant case types and scenarios, in the U.S. or elsewhere. The group will evaluate ODR services sponsored both by courts and by non-judicial entities, prepare a report, and present its recommendations regarding ODR in Indiana to the Innovation Committee in March 2025.
Hon. Kimberly Bacon, Co-Chair
Marion County Small Claims Court – Lawrence Township
Hon. Jennifer DeGroote, Co-Chair
Allen Superior Court
Mag. Molly Briles
Vanderburgh Superior Court
Hon. William Fee
Steuben Superior Court
Prof. William Henderson
IU Mauer School of Law
Steven Hoar
Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, LLP
Janelle O’Malley
Indiana Office of Court Technology
Prof. Fran Quigley
IU McKinney School of Law
Prof. Angie Raymond
IU Kelley School of Business
Staff Contacts
Joseph Fischer, Staff Attorney
Indiana Office of Court Services
joseph.fischer@courts.in.gov
Kate Mead, Process Improvement Analyst
Indiana Office of Innovation
katelyn.mead@courts.in.gov
Technology Subcommittee
Hon. Leanna Weissmann, Chair
Indiana Court of Appeals
Mag. Pauline Beeson
Marion Superior Court
Hon. Sam Conrad
Adams Superior Court
Mary DePrez
Indiana Offfice of Court Technology
Hon. Robert Krieg
Gibson Superior Court
Hon. Marissa McDermott
Lake Circuit Court
Chris Nancarrow
Allen Court Clerk
Hon. F. Aaron Negangard
Dearborn-Ohio Circuit Court
Robert Rath
Indiana Office of Innovation
Hon. David Riggins
Shelby Superior Court
Staff Contacts
Robert Kariuki
Indiana Court of Appeals
robert.kariuki@courts.in.gov
Brendan O'Connor
Indiana Office of Innovation
brendan.oconnor@courts.in.gov
Janelle O'Malley
Indiana Office of Court Technology
janelle.omalley@courts.in.gov
