(click on logo for location, then click
"Aerial" for a satellite view of South
Bend and the JJC)
1000 S. Michigan St., South Bend, IN 46601-3426
----- Phone: 574-235-KIDS (5437)
Mission Statement:
"The
St. Joseph County Juvenile Justice Center is dedicated to protecting
the safety of the community by providing the appropriate treatment and
rehabilitation for the children and the families of our county."
(Adopted 5/22/2002)
Welcome To The St. Joseph Probate Court Home Page!
The St. Joseph Probate Court, located in South Bend, Indiana, has
original and concurrent jurisdiction with the St. Joseph Circuit and
Superior Courts over decedents' estates, protected persons and trust
administration. The Court also has exclusive jurisdiction in St. Joseph
County over adoptions, delinquency, CHINS and paternity cases. Since
1997, the Court has been located in the Thomas
N. Frederick Juvenile Justice Center (use link for map to site)
at
1000 S. Michigan St. in South Bend, IN. The center includes ample
public
parking, easy access to public transportation and offices for the:
Court's
staff, County Clerk, Probation Department, CASA Program, Child
Protection Team (St. Joseph County Office Of Family And Children), St.
Joseph County Prosecutor, and St. Joseph County Public Defender.
Judicial responsibilities are managed by Judge Peter J. Nemeth,
Magistrate Harold E. Brueseke, Magistrate Barbara J. Johnston,
Magistrate Rochelle S. Cotter, and
Senior Judge J. Eric Smithburn.
Judiciary
Judge Peter J.
Nemeth
Magistrate Harold E.
Brueseke Magistrate
Barbara J. Johnston Magistrate Rochelle S.
Cotter Sr. Judge J. Eric Smithburn
(South Bend Tribune Photo)
(click on an image
to enlarge)
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
State of the art design and technology
are an integral part of the
Court's facility.
Integrator.com
(formerly Security Automation Systems) of Noblesville,
Indiana installed various components to provide security, including
extensive monitoring of secure and non-secure areas. Though the Court
does not accept FAX filings, FAX contact with the Court, Clerk, and
Juvenile Probation Department is possible.
The following links provide
access to the court's hearing schedule,
information about the work of the
Court, and contact information for various local public offices and
agencies:
Quest Case Management System: After
moving into its new facilities in May of 1997, the court acquired and
adapted the Quest system to manage its detention,
probation and delinquency caseloads. Over the last several years the
court added its paternity, CHINS and termination cases to the
system. Unique to these enhancements is
the ability of Quest to connect directly to and receive or share
information with the Indiana ISETS (statewide child support
tracking system) and
the Indiana ICWIS systems (statewide Indiana Child Welfare
System). For further information on these applications, connect with
this link
(choose the March-April 1999 issue and go to page 8 of the PDF file) to
view an article submitted by Magistrate Brueseke to the Indiana
Court Times in 1999.
Beginning in March of 2002 after receiving permission from the
Indiana Supreme Court, the court began to use Quest to manage
its Trust, Estate
and Guardianship cases. Currently this application is set up on a trial
basis
with several local law firms. Unique to this application, but
accessible
in other applications, is the ability of authorized users to file
documents,
etc. across the Internet using secure connection technology.
After
opening an estate with the clerk, authorized users connected to the
Internet
are able to answer a series of questions and provide data about a
decedent
and an estate. This generates a form that is "filed" with the
clerk
and once the filing is approved by the clerk on one of the computer
terminals
in the clerk's office, the form becomes a part of the clerk's records
and
the estate file.
USE
THIS LINK TO ACCESS THE COURT'S QUEST
CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AS WELL AS A QUEST
TUTORIAL
These pictures memorialize the first estate filing made over the
Internet on March 7, 2002:
(click on an image to enlarge)
This filing procedure is unique in that it does not
use a image or PDF
file created by the lawyer involved. Rather, the process uses
forms
created by the court within the Quest system. This allows
the
forms to be standardized and allows the key data elements in the form
such
as name, address, age, etc. to be added to the "data warehouse" of the
system. Once such information is entered, it is instantaneously
available for the next form that is created. When filing
subsequent forms, authorized users are able to update the information
in the data warehouse. This is advantageous in terms of keeping
address and telephone numbers as current as possible.
The Internet connectivity has been used for some time by probation
officers in local schools and by the Court's judiciary who can review
court records and approve or issue orders from their homes or wherever
an internet connection is available. On weekends, the judiciary
reviews probation officer affidavits and enters probable
cause/detention orders within forty-eight (48)
hours of time an alleged delinquent offenders is arrested.
LINKS TO FAVORITE PAGES
Various informational, educational as well as legal resources abound
on the Worldwide Web. Use the links below to connect to or print out
the Internet addresses of sites of interest to you. If you connect to
any site, you must understand that there is no guarantee that the
information you view is accurate, up to date or that the information
provided at a "legal site"
is in any way a substitute for the professional legal advice that you
can
receive from an attorney. In providing this list of "links", the
St.
Joseph Probate Court in no way endorses or supports those who maintain
the
sites or the information available at any site. The St. Joseph Probate
Court
cannot attest to, or guarantee the accuracy of any information or data
available
at any site.
Indiana Child Support Information
Indiana Parenting Time Information
St. Joseph Probate Court Information
Indiana Legal Resources
Other Resources and Research Materials
Educational And Reading Resources
Other Useful Links
JJC Views
Main Entrance
--------------------Clerks' Office
---------------- Ivy Tech Construction
(click on an image to enlarge)
Web master
Send us your comments or questions.
Copyright: Other than site references, and
Tribune photo, (c) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004,
2005, 2006 & 2007
Originated: November 15, 1996 ---- Last
Revised: April 3, 2008
URL Site: http://users.michiana.org/probate