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Feb
20
Indiana Supreme Court to look at debt collection practices
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The Indiana Supreme Court is looking into debt collection practices in Marion County small claims courts, reports the Indianapolis Star.
Indiana Court of Appeals Judge John Baker, who will serve on the Indiana Supreme Court’s task force, told the Star that he is worried that “people might perceive they aren’t being treated fairly” the way debt collection cases are proceeding through the small claims courts.
Before I started my law practice where I often represent debtors, I worked as a collection attorney for two law firms that had debt collection cases in Marion County. I routinely attended court in Marion County for one law office in the early 2000′s. Later in the decade, I attended court at one of the small claims courts in the City-County building in Marion County.
When I went to court, I always made it clear that I was an attorney for the Plaintiff and always gave the “mini-Miranda” warning advising debtors that I am a debt collector and that any information they told me would be used for to collect the debt. I also made sure to give debtors a card with my law firm’s file number so that debtors could make sure their payments were properly credited.
I also attended court in Cook County, Illinois in the First District (Daley Center) on the eleventh floor where every collection case was called before the judge. It wasn’t unusual for court to start at 9:30 a.m. and everyone (20-30 debtors) would have had their case called at least once by 10:30 a.m.
Indiana’s courts routinely handle small claims cases by informal hallway hearings. Illinois’ courts usually called cases before a judge to ascertain an admission or a denial.
The solution might be to have the judge call the cases before the court to determine if there are disputes or if debtors wish to admit the debt and set up payment plans. In Cook County, the judges usually had a standard statement they made to debtors at the beginning of court explaining the process to save time. Debtors who requested trial dates could be assigned a date at the “admit or deny” phase of the hearing. Debtors who agreed to owing debts could set up payment plans before the judge. Information, such as debtor addresses, could be verified for accuracy.
It might be worthwhile for the task force to take a field trip to the Daley Center’s 11th Floor to observe how Chicago’s high-volume courts handle their small claims cases. Cook County’s Sixth District in Markham handles cases the same way, so if the task force wanted free parking, they could go to that court instead.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with small claims procedures in Marion County because it may signal changes to come statewide as many debt collection cases are handled as “hallway hearings” in Indiana.
Feb
7
Do not skip jury duty
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It’s a fundamental component of our legal system — a jury of our peers to make decisions concerning the facts of a case.
Every so often, someone will try to skip this duty for whatever reason. If many people did this, the system would break down.
Do not do skip jury in Lake County, Indiana, or anywhere else for that matter.
Above the Law reports that a Lake Superior Court judge recently punished a man who failed to return to jury duty after lunch by making him carry a sign that read “I failed to appear for jury duty.”
