Dear Editor,

We all have been following what seems to be the hottest political Judge campaign to hit Kosciusko County. As most are aware, every candidate is “qualified” for this position, as the requirements to be qualified for this position are;

1) Live in the judicial district.

2) Be a competent practicing attorney. The one thing that seems to be misunderstood is who actually has the most ‘experienced,’ who really is the most competent to take on this role for our community and offer advancement in Superior Court.

3) Who can step into Superior Court 3, or ANY court and not only improve the effectiveness of the system but the overall system in general?

This is where the experience does matter and we need the candidate with the most diverse legal experience. While watching the candidates forum all candidates were asked a closing question of why they deserve the voter’s vote. Miner stated he deserved the vote because he is a lifetime resident of Kosciusko County and has “substantial” experience as the pro tem judge.

Bishop stated he has practiced law for over 20 years and won several awards, and McGrath did not mention anything about deserving the vote based off her legal experience or any of her legal work in general, which isn’t surprising since she has only been a private practice attorney for less than 3 years. However, there was one candidate that during this forum actually explained their diverse background in law, explained how her resume and qualifications actually make her the most experienced for the job, and that is Lindsey Grossnickle.

Grossnickle is the right person to walk into any courtroom and be able to utilize her extensive and diverse background of the law and improve the effectiveness of the system. During her campaign, Grossnickle has been adamant that her resume is simply unmatched by other candidates—which is true.

During the candidate forum, all candidates were asked how they could improve the effectiveness of the court, and the term problem-solving courtrooms were mentioned. Grossnickle is already utilizing a problem-solving court in Whitley County and has shown incredible success in doing so with a group that is often ignored in our community which are not only veterans but also juveniles in the criminal court system.

Grossnickle has been able to utilize the approach of problem-solving courts to meet the specific needs of the offenders, regardless if they are a veteran, a juvenile, or a second offense DUI offender. Being able to take the approach of using tailored courts to meet the needs of specific at-risk groups is extremely necessary and vital to reducing reoccurring offenders.

In a world with diverse needs, especially when it comes to the law, we need judges that not only understand but embrace the idea that not one size fits all when sentencing an offender.

Not only has Grossnickle been practicing and embracing a problem-solving court method, with great success, she is also highly experienced with a diverse legal background.

Her extensive background in law spreads from being a law clerk for the Indiana Court of Appeals, nearly 20 years of hands-on courtroom experience. Not only a registered, but a practicing, mediator, and extensive civil, criminal, municipal, youth and family law experience.

Grossnickle has been able to utilize her problem-solving court methods by being co-coordinator for the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative in not only Kosciusko County, but also Whitley County, and is a strong advocate for the young child.

Heather Coy
Leesburg