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ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS Joseph C. Chapelle Mark J. Crandley Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES Karl L. Mulvaney Nana Quay-Smith Kent D. Zepick Indianapolis, IN David A. Lewis Jeffersonville, Indiana

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In the

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 10S00-0606-CV-199 CLARK COUNTY COUNCIL AND CLARK COUNTY AUDITOR, Appellants (Defendants below), v. DANIEL F. DONAHUE, CECILE A. BLAU, VICKI CARMICHAEL, AND STEVEN M. FLEECE, Appellees (Plaintiffs below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Clark Circuit Court, No. 10C01-0506-PL-375 The Honorable Elaine B. Brown, Special Judge _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer Pursuant to Appellate Rule 56(A) _________________________________ September 26, 2007 Sullivan, Justice.

A dispute has arisen in Clark County over the purposes for which "probation users' fees" collected from persons placed on probation can be spent and the authority for making those spending decisions. State law is clear that probation users' fees may be spent only to supplement

probation services and to supplement salaries for probation officers; they may not be used to replace other funding of probation services. The county fiscal body shares authority for spending decisions with the courts in the county that provides probation services.

Background

As we have previously recognized, probation serves the humane purposes of allowing an offender to avoid incarceration and meet financial responsibilities through gainful employment, while still allowing a court opportunities for supervision and revocation if necessary. Stephens v. State, 818 N.E.2d 936, 941 (Ind. 2004); Cox v. State, 706 N.E.2d 547, 550 (Ind. 1999). Indiana trial court judges have the authority to award, supervise, and revoke probation. The probationary scheme is deliberately designed to give trial judges the flexibility to make quick, case-bycase determinations. Reyes v. State, 868 N.E.2d 438, 440 (Ind. 2007); Stephens, 818 N.E.2d at 941-42.

When placing a person convicted of a felony on probation, a judge is required to order the person to pay a "probation user's fee." Ind. Code

Download Clark County Council and Clark County Auditor v. Daniel F. Donahue, Cecile A. Bl

Indiana Law