CHIEF JUDGE LLOYD’S RESPONSE TO OPPONENT’S ALLEGATIONS

Normally, I would not respond to my opponent’s claims, but when his charges mislead the public, I feel compelled to reply. His statement that in my “6 plus years” as Supervisor of Family Court “not one meaningful change has been made” is entirely incorrect.

Here are some of the changes in Family Court during my twelve years as Judge:

• In 2006, I chaired the Committee that updated our local Family Law Rules which contain a provision allowing the litigants the ability to have the same Judge or Magistrate continue to hear their case for subsequent hearings.
• Superior Court also has a parental education workshop for divorcing parents to encourage cooperation and mediation between separating and divorcing parents. The goals of this workshop are to aid the children of divorcing parents by helping the parents with post-separation parenting issues and to encourage agreements between the litigating parents in the best interest of their children.
• I was instrumental in increasing the number of Summary Hearings held in our Family Cases. These provide litigants relatively quick and with less expense court intervention to resolve their issues before matters worsen.
• In 2003, I sought and received an Indiana Supreme Court appointment to its Domestic Relations Committee. During my five years with this Committee, we created a manual to be used by other Domestic Relations Courts throughout the state of Indiana, so that more continuity would exist in all Family Courts of Indiana. We also worked on amending the Indiana Child Support Guidelines to make them more fair, consistent and predictable for the parties. We also helped create an on-line child support calculator so litigants would have the tools to determine child support issues for themselves.
• In 2008, I began our Family Court Project which for nearly five years has helped indigent families in domestic matters resolve their own case to their satisfaction by creating a free clinic where lawyers assist them with creating court agreements. With this program, we also referred many disagreements to mediation, so families did not have to come to court, and referrals could be made for counseling when needed. In our very first year, we were able to help 63 families and 81 children. As time progressed, our program became so successful that the State of Indiana asked us to create a handbook for other counties, so they too could create their own Family Court Project like Vanderburgh’s plan. Recently, Daviess and Pike Counties cited our handbook when applying for their own Family Court grants. As we approached our fifth year, we expanded our Family Court concept by creating the Alternative Dispute Resolution Fund which is used specifically to mediate family cases in a greater number. With the aid of a trained mediator, indigent and non-indigent families will have the opportunity to resolve their differences outside of the courthouse and with less impact on their children.
• In 2009, our community saw the creation of the Parenting Time Center which is a safe place for children during tumultuous parenting time exchanges and for children to have supervised visits with a parent. As a Judge, not only have I sent parents and children to the Parenting Time Center, but I have also assisted the Center with obtaining grants to continue its operation.
• Beginning September 1, 2012, our Court system is being restructured to meet the changing needs of our community. Paternities cases which have increased in number over the years will join domestic relations matters to create a true Family Court where four Judges and a Magistrate will focus their resources to resolving these cases quicker to seek positive outcomes. Drug and Alcohol addictions will be addressed earlier by the Courts with a specialized Class D Felony treatment court, and the Juvenile Court will have more time to focus on children. My initial reservations about such a total revamping of the Court system were alleviated once we, seven Judges, developed a well-reasoned, thoughtful plan to optimally address our community’s needs from its Court system.

EVANSVILLE, IN – Vanderburgh County Health Department officials will give an update on efforts to combat the West Nile virus at the Traveling City Hall meeting Wednesday, August 29, at Helfrich Park STEM Academy, 2603 W. Maryland St. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a presentation by
Vanderburgh County Health Officer Dr. Ray Nicholson, who will be available after the presentation to respond to specific questions. The meeting will end at 7 p.m.

Traveling City Hall is an opportunity for residents to meet with Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and various city department heads to ask questions or simply discuss the status of our community. Among those attending the meeting will be Evansville Water & Sewer Utility General Manager Allen Mounts; Phil
Hooper, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development; Building Commissioner Ben Miller, and Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin.

Traveling City Hall meetings are usually held on the last Wednesday of each month at different locations in neighborhoods throughout the city from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A special Traveling City Hall meeting has been set for Saturday, September 15, at Eastland Mall from 10 to 11:30 a.m. More details will be released closer to the event date.

Barry Blackard, candidate for Vanderburgh Superior Court Judge in the Juvenile Division, hits the airwaves today with his first television ad entitled “Integrity.” The ad will run on cable and during local broadcast television newscasts over the next two weeks.

The campaign commercial provides information about Blackard’s local roots and qualifications, including his years working as a public defender in Vanderburgh County where he has handled hundreds of cases in both Circuit and Superior Courts, including the Juvenile Division. The ad’s message includes a pledge that Blackard will not accept contributions from lawyers or others appearing before his court, a current practice that could create possible conflicts of interest. The commercial refers to Blackard as “a new kind of people’s judge.”

“As the campaign unfolds, I look forward to meeting personally with as many voters as possible to discuss problems with our current courts,” Blackard said. “I will be a full time judge and will make sure the courts are more accountable to the taxpayers.”

Blackard, 32, is an Evansville native and graduate of Evansville Central High School. He attended undergraduate school at Indiana University in Bloomington and earned his law degree from Atlanta’s John Marshall School of Law. He and his wife Kristyn reside on Evansville’s North side with their two sons.

If you would like more information, please contact Barry at blackardforjudge@gmail.com.

The Rasmussen Tracking poll today shows President Obama with a 47% – 44% lead over Mitt Romney while Gallup’s Tracking poll shows Romney leading at 47% -46% each.

The average of these two polls is now showing the Romney/Ryan campaign with 45.5% and the Obama/Biden at 46.5% for the second lead of the ticket in a week.

The average approval rate for President Obama despite leading is at negative 0.5% meaning that the 1% more of those polled disapprove than approve of the Presidents job performance. The average approval rating for the President was 47.5% and the average disapproval was 48.0%.

In a surprise poll ABC now has the Romney Ryan ticket leading by 1%.