A Salute to the Honorable Judge Wayne S. Trockman

Zach Stuard
Staff Writer for CCO

The Honorable Judge Wayne Trockman is not only the most recognized Judge in the Vanderburgh County Superior Court but is also considered one of the most respected judges in all of Indiana. A quick online search reveals copious awards and achievements depicting Judge Trockman’s career, along with a full dossier of programs, associations, and projects he has led or been a part of. Judge Trockman is most recognized for his work in creating Vanderburgh County’s Drug Court. Working alone at first, Judge Trockman witnessed the rapid expansion of the project and knew he needed help. Judge Trockman enlisted fellow Judge David Kiely, and together the two set out to find a way to expand Vanderburgh County’s Drug Court. The idea behind the expansion was to raise the number of participants in Trockman’s treatment programs to two-hundred. The courts currently have just over one-hundred participants, but Trockman hopes that a recent grant they received will push these numbers past two-hundred. Trockman and Kiely decided the best approach to finding the necessary funding was to piece the program together, rather than tackling everything at once. Cobbling together grant after grant the two were able to get the court on its feet and operating smoothly.
I started this interview by asking Judge Trockman what one thing he would change in the system if he could? Without hesitation Judge Trockman replied, “I would change the entire sentencing structure in the state. No politician has ever been re-elected by saying they want shorter sentences.” Yet, both judges recognize the importance of rehabilitating non-violent offenders and reintegrating them into society rather than grouping and imprisoning them with violent offenders, which, in many cases, result in the non-violent offender turning out worse than they were before. In Judge Trockman and Judge Kiely’s court non-violent offenders are sent to a small, protective, and segregated Therapeutic Communities within the corrections system for 9 months. Upon completion of the nine month program the offenders start a three year, evidence based, rehabilitation program in which the offender is in touch with, and checks in daily, with case managers for random drug screens, breathalyzers, and the opportunity to build a relationship. Offenders know they may be screened at any time and are screened no less than twice a week. Offenders showing good behavior and positive results may eventually earn the right to check in five days a week, then three, respectively. One great aspect of this program is that for offenders to even qualify they must hold a job, a mere 100% employment rate is present in the program. With our current Drugs and Re-entry court’s policy the rate of re-offense is typically cut in half, sometimes more. With most judicial systems in Indiana, and around the country, relapse typically results in a zero tolerance, immediate incarceration policy. In Judges Trockman and Kiely’s courts, however, this is only the case if it is apparent that the offender is not dedicated or compliant to the process of recovery. Judges Trockman and Kiely both understand that relapses will and do occur and are willing to work with offenders as long as their hearts are in the fight. This is not to say that the relapsing offender gets off free, most will spend a seven day period in county jail or time in an in-patient rehabilitation program before resuming their 3 year probationary period. I asked Judge Trockman what the most rewarding aspect of his work was. He stated, “I am lucky enough to be part of a team that tackles these issues, and from time to time we get to see the difference we make, first hand, in the lives of people that have come through our courts. We actually see the results of our work and get to talk to and develop relationships with the people we seek to help. All judges should be active with issues facing their community and should invest their capitol towards improving their communities as it relates to social issues that come before the courts.”
The Courts consist of 4 programs within it. Judge Kiely heads the Drug and the Veterans Treatment Court. Judge Trockman, on the other hand, oversees the Re-Entry Court and Forensic Diversion. The two hope to continue seeing positive results in the low percentage of repeat offenders compared to offenders that served hard time. The goal is to provide help and rehabilitation to offenders in the hopes that a better quality of life for them will cut down on the occurrence of re-offense. The program also tackles the issues we have with over-population in our prison systems and the costs we accrue by incarcerating them. Currently there are 29,000 people incarcerated in Indiana and the average cost of a 4 year sentence is around 250,000 dollars, all taxpayer money. In Judges Trockman and Kiely’s program taxpayers pay 5,000 dollars per year, on the high end, for the three year program with the nine month segregated sentence costing around 35,000 dollars. That is 50,000 dollars, in total, to correctly treat and re-enter non-violent offenders back into society, a substantial difference of 200,000 dollars.
Appointed to the bench by Governor Frank O’Bannon in 1998, Judge Trockman has spent a large amount of his time involved in extra-judicial activities and served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Indiana Judicial Center for a period of ten years, but rotated off two years ago. Judge Trockman also currently serves as a member of the Indiana Judicial Center’s Problem Solving Courts Committee. Judge Trockman has also served as Co-Chair of the Volunteer Lawyer Association of Southwest Indiana from 2006 to 2012, which provides pro-bono legal services to the poor in thirteen counties within the district. Because of his effort to make legal services available to those that may not have been able to afford council otherwise, Judge Trockman received the Randal T. Shepard Pro-Bono Award in 2009. He has been a past President of the Vanderburgh County Election Board from ’93 to ’97; past President of the Evansville Bar Association from ’96 to ’97; past President of Brooks American Inn of Court from ’95 to ’98; past President of Evansville Board of Park Commissioners from ’88 to ’91; and, past Chairman or Vanderburgh County Law Library Foundation from ’95 to ’96. In 2004 Judge Trockman received the prestigious Jefferson Award from the American Institute for Public Service for services rendered to the community.
Judge Trockman received his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Southern Indiana. Judge Trockman then decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, who practiced law in Evansville for forty years, and received his law degree from Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Judge Trockman then privately practiced law with Newman, Trockman, Lloyd, Flynn & Rheinlander from 1985 through 1999 and served as assistant attorney to the city of Evansville from 1991 to 1998. Judge Trockman was then appointed to the Vanderburgh Superior Court bench in December of 1998. Judge Trockman has since been elected for two additional six year terms in 2001 and again in 2007. Judge Trockman has also served as Chief Judge of Vanderburgh Superior Court in 2003 to 2005, 2007, 2008 and again in 2013.
When Judge Trockman is not working diligently to help individuals who find themselves in the throes of the judicial system you may find him riding his motorcycle or restoring a classic car. Judge Trockman enjoys restoring cars from the 60’s and 70’s which he considers to be “The Glory Days.” His first restoration was an all original 1967 Pontiac GTO HO. From there he was hooked and has since restored a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. Judge Trockman openly admits, though, that riding motorcycles has always been his favorite hobby. He competed in Enduro and Hare scramble races in his younger days. Trockman has since found motorcycling more suitable for his lifestyle and has traveled the country on his bike and has also motorcycled through Normandy, France. More than anything, though, Trockman enjoys spending as much time as he can with his family. Judge Trockman met his wife Jill in high school, but they did not marry until 1985. They have two sons Josh and Ben. Josh, age 22, is a senior at Indiana University and plans to attend law school at IU upon receiving his undergraduate degree. Ben, age 24, is focusing on communications at the University of Southern Indiana. Ben suffered a spinal cord injury in a tragic dirt bike accident in 2006, paralyzing him from the neck down. Trockman commented, “Ben is an inspiration to me. He has so much strength and strong will.” The family also has an Australian Shepherd named Liberty that was born shortly after the terrorist attacks in New York City on Sept. 11. If no one has ever been re-elected by saying they want shorter sentences, then let me be the first to say Judge Trockman, that you just might be pioneering the way. If anyone would like to contribute any amount of funding to FAIR (Foundation Assisting In Recovery), which is the organization set up to fund the re-organization of the Vanderburgh County Treatment Court you may contact Doris Siegel at (812) 423-1416 or Dawn Cimely at (812) 421-6335.