My last two featured articles dealt with the judgeship of the Hammond City Court. The earlier article of April 21, 2016 was an analysis of Judge Jeffrey Harkin’s appointment of a special judge to serve temporarily during Judge Harkin’s disability. The follow-up article of April 25, 2016 was written in the wake of news of Judge Harkin’s untimely passing. That latter article teemed with “unsolicited advice” to Governor Pence as to the appointment of a permanent replacement. As of this writing, City Court Referee Gerald Kray is serving as Judge Pro Tempore of the Hammond City Court by appointment of the Indiana Supreme Court. Governor Pence has not yet named a “permanent” replacement to serve for the remainder of the four-year term to which Judge Harkin was elected in 2015.
I promised in that article of April 25, 2015 to give notice to the Governor of the nonpolitical criteria that I urged him to consider in naming a replacement. That promise was kept. Using the contact interface from the Governor’s Website I emailed a message introducing myself as a Hammond lawyer and law blogger concerned about the appointment of the next Hammond City Court Judge. Then I referenced the CLB and the article of April 25, 2016 and recommended its reading.
Almost immediately there was a confirmation of receipt in my inbox with a promise of an actual response. The response arrived yesterday (May 12th), and I read it with great anticipation and then with equally great disappointment. Here is the text of that response.
STATE OF INDIANA Michael R. Pence
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR Governor
State House, Second Floor
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204Dear Mr. Allen:
Thank you for contacting me. It was a pleasure to hear from you, although I am sorry to hear of the circumstances prompting your correspondence.
The situation you describe requires legal assistance, which the Governor’s Office is not able to provide. If you are not able to afford an attorney, you should contact Legal Aid at 800-869-0212 and/or the Indiana Pro Bono Commission at 317-608-6505. You might also contact your local Bar Association, as they sometimes have attorneys that are able to offer legal assistance.
Again, thank you for contacting me and please do not hesitate to do so again.
Sincerely,
Mike Pence
Governor
I confess that I will not take to heart the Governor’s suggestion to call Legal Aid. I doubt that Legal Aid can help in my quest to gain the Governor’s attention on a matter of importance to the electorate and to the bar. While I had no right to expect a personal response from the Governor, I had hoped that his staff could actually read, comprehend, and write a relevant reply. The citizens deserve better. By the way, Governor Pence will be on the ballot this November.
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