Plea for Patience: Paternity Court Understaffed

By D. Elizabeth Cox, Cox & Koons LLP

We’ve all heard the phrase “happy wife, happy life”, but have you heard “happy court staff, happy court”? No? Hm, I could have sworn that had hit the mainstream. In all seriousness, these gatekeepers of justice work to keep the wheels turning for all of us. When the courts are short staffed the staffers feel it, then we feel it. Sometimes, when we feel it, we are not our best selves (hands up if you’ve ever been described as “hangry”!) and spiral goes downward.  

As the summer days get longer, in one court in particular the staff is getting a little shorter. Marion Circuit Court, Paternity Division, is short a few familiar faces and it's all hands on deck for the remaining staff. Any extra patience you can show will, no doubt, be appreciated. I’ve been advised that they will be reaching out even more to see if settlements have been reached so they can have the best idea of how to allocate staff daily and the sooner we can let them know when hearings will be vacated, the better!  It won’t last forever, but in the meantime: “happy court staff, happy all of us...” am I right!?!?

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