Hundreds of times each year in Allen County, people have their driving privileges suspended. That suspension can come for a variety of reasons, from being convicted of a crime to being behind on child support to failing to pay car insurance. But the result is the same. That driver – at least temporarily – cannot legally operate a motor vehicle. In some cases, though, a limited lifeline might be available for suspended drivers who still need to do the essentials of life while those legal problems work their way through the process. On this episode of INSession we’re talking about Specialized Driving Privileges: Who’s eligible, how to apply and what it all means. On this episode, we mention several helpful website links. Those include: https://www.indianalegalservices.org, https://indianalegalhelp.org, https://www.allencountybar.org/legal-line/ and https://www.in.gov/bmv/

Opportunity. It’s something everyone needs at the start of their career, yet often proves hard to find. But in Allen Superior Court, opportunities abound for recent law school graduates looking for a leg up as they begin their professional lives. Applications are now open for Superior Court’s Civil Division law clerk program. It’s a rare opportunity for aspiring attorneys to see it all and gain world-class experience. Alumni of this program are working at all levels of the law – and you or someone you know could be next. On this episode of INSession, we’re talking about being a Law Clerk in the Allen Superior Court. Opportunity awaits.

It’s a truth as sure as the certainty of death and taxes: If results are the goal, complex challenges demand innovative ideas. Allen Superior Court is taking on the challenge of an especially complex issue – family domestic violence – through the launch of a new problem-solving court, the first of its kind in Indiana. The new court has a dual mission of helping survivors of domestic violence build safe and healthy families and of helping break the cycle of violence that often spreads from generation to generation. It’s hard to acknowledge being a victim of domestic violence or being the one who committed that act. It can be even harder to ask for help. But when that day comes, Allen Superior Court’s Family Domestic Violence Court is there to help. In this two-part episode of INSession, we take a look at Allen Superior Courts Family Domestic Violence Court, helping heal families in our community.

It’s a truth as sure as the certainty of death and taxes: If results are the goal, complex challenges demand innovative ideas. Allen Superior Court is taking on the challenge of an especially complex issue – family domestic violence – through the launch of a new problem-solving court, the first of its kind in Indiana. The new court has a dual mission of helping survivors of domestic violence build safe and healthy families and helping break the cycle of violence that often spreads from generation to generation. It’s hard to acknowledge being a victim of domestic violence or being the one who committed that act. It can be even harder to ask for help. But when that day comes, Allen Superior Court’s Family Domestic Violence Court is there to help. On this two-part episode of INSession, we take a look at Allen Superior Courts Family Domestic Violence Court, helping heal families in our community.

On one of the first episodes of INSession, we profiled Allen Superior Court’s Family Recovery Court (FRC). It’s among the newest problem-solving courts in Allen County, Indiana, providing help to families that saves lives, families and futures. Family Recovery Court tackles a complex mission by offering specialized help and treatment to families and caregivers who find themselves in court to address abuse and neglect cases rooted in substance abuse. In Court, clients have a network of support, the likes of which many of them have never experienced at their fingertips. But outside the courtroom, FRC clients can face a barrage of temptations and exposures to drugs and alcohol that threaten their recovery. On this episode, we’re talking about the safety net of resources that those dealing with addictions can tap into AFTER the gavel falls.

At the heart of many child abuse and neglect cases that come before the Allen County Courts is someone truly special. It's someone who partners with the child, their caregivers, teachers, therapists and important people in their lives to make sure the child’s needs are being represented in court. Throughout a case, attorneys speak for the adults. But hundreds of times a year, it’s a Court Appointed Special Advocate – a CASA volunteer – who stands up for the child. On this episode of INSession, we’re talking about Allen County’s CASA program and the volunteer advocates who make its mission possible. For more information on the Allen County CASA program. call (260) 449-7190, visit www.allencountycasa.org or email [email protected].

Allen Superior Court’s Family Division is trying something new these days. It’s an initiative meant to open the doors to the courtroom to the people their hearings as so often about – kids. Now, it’s possible for children 14 and older to be in the courtroom to take part in important family court conversations that can have lasting impacts on themselves and their families. On this episode of INSession are the key players who came up with and turned into reality the idea that young people should have their voices heard in the courtroom.

The chance to rethink the basics of criminal justice doesn’t come along very often. In 2016, just such an opportunity presented itself to Allen Superior Court. It was a chance to rethink who should be in the Allen County Jail while awaiting trial, and who could be trusted to remain free – and to come back when their day in court arrived. The results have been astonishing. Millions of taxpayer dollars saved while keeping thousands of low-risk defendants free – safely and successfully – as they await resolution of their cases. On this episode of INSession, we’re talking about Indiana’s Criminal Rule 26, and the fundamental way it’s changed how bail works in the State of Indiana.

It is perhaps the most personal business families and individuals ever have to attend to: Managing a loved one’s interests and assets after they pass away or become incapacitated. Most people don’t know it until they day the need to. But the Allen County Courts have a role in making sure the best interests of those involved are handled with competence, care and compassion. Hundreds of times each year, people have to come to court (often for the first time) to deal with these complex issues. On this episode of INSession we’re talking to Allen Superior Court Magistrate Phil Houk about the role of the Courts in wills, estates and guardianships.

For most people, it’s a moment that arrives someday, whether we want it to or not. And for most, if not all of us, it’s an intimidating moment filled with questions and doubt. It’s hard to even know how to take the first steps – or even what those steps might be – when you have to go to court. On this episode of InSession we’re talking about resources available in Allen County, Indiana, to people struggling to understand the legal process and struggling to afford the legal assistance they might need. (For more information on legal aid resources available in Allen County, visit https://www.allencountybar.org/legal-links/)