Dowling for Judge

Awards

As a result of Judge Dowling’s work to fight human trafficking, she has been twice awarded with the Voice of Freedom Award for exemplary actions in the pursuit of Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking by Restored, Inc., an agency that provided services to survivors of human trafficking. These awards were given to her to recognize her work in developing tools for juvenile probation officers, law enforcement, educators, and the health care industry to assist them in recognizing victims of human trafficking, and for working with legislators to advance our laws addressing juvenile sex trafficking.

Judge Dowling was granted the Randall Shepherd Pro Bono Award in 2018 by the Indiana Bar Foundation for her work developing the Self-Help Center and developing forms for use by self- represented litigants throughout the state. This award is the highest award given by the Indiana Bar Foundation to recognize excellence in addressing pro-bono (free) legal assistance in Indiana.

Odyssey Software

Delaware County previously used court software for case tracking that cost the county $40,000 annually in maintenance fees alone and had fallen way behind in updating its computer hardware and software. The five judges in Delaware County agreed that updating was essential.

Odyssey is software provided by the State of Indiana for free, through its Court Technology Project, to each Indiana County with no cost for maintenance. As the then-presiding Judge, Judge Dowling successfully negotiated with the State for new computer hardware for our courts, obtaining a grant for approximately $92,000 for new computers, scanners, and printers for Delaware County’s courts.

Self-Represented Litigants

Statistics from the Indiana Bar Foundation show that approximately 60% of Indiana Civil Litigants are self-represented. Some are so by choice, but most are unable to afford the services of any attorney. Judge Dowling was the judicial appointment to the Board of District F Pro Bono council and led the board in providing pro bono (free) services to residents of Delaware County.

In addition, Judge Dowling was appointed by the Indiana Supreme Court to its new Coalition for Court Access, where she chaired the Best Practices committee that is charged with providing forms for self-represented litigants.

Judge Dowling has also led Delaware County to form a Self-Help Center in the courthouse and applied for and received grant monies to purchase computers and a printer, open the center in the courthouse, and provide facilitator attorneys to assist litigants in filling out the forms for filing at the Clerks’ Office.

Judge Dowling has continued to improve the center by developing an orientation session for litigants to view online to prepare for representing themselves in court and has applied for and received grant money to translate forms into Spanish.

Visit by the Indiana Supreme Court

Twice a year, the Indiana Supreme Court goes “on the road” to hold an oral argument in a county away from the State House in Indianapolis. The Supreme Court likes to visit other counties to give Hoosier students the experience of a day at the Supreme Court.

In October 2016, Judge Dowling spearheaded the Indiana Supreme Court holding an oral argument at Emens Auditorium on Ball State’s campus. Approximately 1,000 people attended, mostly high school students, but also BSU political science students, local office holders, and the Muncie Bar Association.

Briefs on the case were supplied to the high school teachers weeks in advance. Members of the Bar Association volunteered their time to travel to those schools and help the teachers instruct on the case and the procedures they would see.

After the argument, the Justices joined the Bar Association at the student center for lunch. Local students had an experience that day they would normally not have. As a result of her efforts, the Indiana Supreme Court presented Judge Dowling with a “challenge coin,” an award developed by the Court to honor judges and others associated with the courts who have gone above and beyond their normal duties.

Efficient Exercise of Court Duties

When Judge Dowling was elected to the bench in 2012, Delaware Circuit Court 2 had 3,008 pending cases (cases that have been filed with the court, but not decided). This number of pending cases was excessive compared to the other Delaware county courts.  Many were old and parties had not taken any action in years.

Additionally, 55 cases had also been left under advisement by her predecessor. Cases under advisement have been heard and evidence has been taken, but no decision has been made.  Judge Dowling and her staff worked diligently to dispose of these cases.

Judge Dowling worked with the Indiana Judicial Center to address the cases that had been taken under advisement and was able to dispose of all 55 cases within 3 months of taking office. She and her staff worked throughout 2013 to dispose of all of the old pending cases, and by the end of 2013, Judge Dowling’s team reduced the number of pending cases from 3,008 to 1,018—a reduction of over 66%.  Judge Dowling and her staff have maintained that efficiency since 2013, and at the end of 2022 had 1,049 pending cases.

Paid for by the Friends of Kim Dowling, Keeta Edsall, Treasurer