Allen County Superior Court will soon be handling cases originally filed in New Haven City Court.
The New Haven City Court effectively closed at the end of last year and its judge resigned after a number of disciplinary charges were filed against him.
There are 22 cases left to be heard. They will be transferred to the Misdemeanor and Traffic Division of the Allen Superior Court. There are between 6,000 and 7,000 cases with outstanding fees and fine balances that still need to be completed, according to a release from the Allen Superior Court.
For the time being, those with outstanding New Haven cases will have to speak to Superior Court personnel for information and payment arrangements. They may reach the court by calling (260) 449-7175.
New Haven cases currently exist only in paper or in an electronic format incompatible with Indiana’s statewide court case management system.
Last year, Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards filed a complaint against then-New Haven City Court Judge Geoff Robison, accusing him of acting outside of the scope of the authority of a city or town court by handling traffic infractions and offering deferrals.
On Dec. 26, the New Haven City Council voted to disband the New Haven City Court and Robison resigned as its judge. Shortly afterward, the Indiana Supreme Court dismissed the disciplinary matter.
Robison, who is not an attorney, agreed to no longer serve as judge. Even though it is barred by state law, if that law were to change, Robison could not take the bench again, according to the conditional agreement as part of the dismissal.
