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News Release
May 12, 2009
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Contact: Steve
Davis, Court Communications Officer, (515) 725-8058
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2008
Iowa Judicial Branch Awards
Des Moines, May 12, 2009— The Iowa Judicial Branch announces the recipients of the
2008 Iowa Judicial Branch Awards.
Amicus Curiae Award—Erb's Business Machines, Cedar
Rapids
Distinguished Service Award—Carroll Edmondson, District Court Administrator, Sixth
Judicial
District
Court Innovation Award—Bernardine Bordignon,
Juvenile Court Supervisor, Sixth Judicial District
Meritorious Service for Part-Time
Judicial Officer —William Keen, Cerro Gordo County
Judicial Hospitalization Referee
Meritorious Service Award for
Administrative Employee—Karen G. Teig, Court Reporter, Sixth Judicial
District
Meritorious Service for Juvenile
Court Services Employee—Patty Redmond,
Juvenile Court Specialist, Third Judicial District
Meritorious Service Award for Clerk
of Court Employee—Melinda Allen, Appellate Court
Clerk
Teamwork Award—Linn County Court Employees, Sixth Judicial District
Customer Service Award—Terry Hansen, Judicial Clerk, Third Judicial District
Amicus Curiae Award
Erb's Business Machines, Cedar Rapids, is the recipient of the
Amicus Curiae Award given in recognition of persons or businesses who
contribute to the administration of justice or who have contributed to building
public support for the judiciary.
The staff of Erb's
Business Machines assisted in the relocation of Linn County Court offices after
last year's flooding of downtown Cedar Rapids. The flood water filled the lower
two floors of the Linn County Courthouse and destroyed 45 computers, 25
printers, 30 monitors and multiple networking devices and forcing the
relocation of the clerk of court's office. A day after Kirkwood Community
College was selected for the court's interim office, Erb's
Business Machines brought replacement equipment to the site. The staff located
the exact models of desktops, laptops, printers, monitors and multi-functional
devices to replace the equipment that was destroyed. Finding the exact model of
computers was important because standard software could be installed on each machine
in 30 minutes. It would have taken eight times longer without the exact models.
As a result, IT services were restored to judges, court administration and the
clerk's office within three working days after the interim site was
selected.
Distinguished Service
Award
Carroll Edmondson, District Court
Administrator for the Sixth Judicial District, is the recipient of the
Distinguished Service Award given in recognition of a court employee who has
exemplified a sustained level of exceptional service to the courts, has
demonstrated a strong commitment to public service, and has continuously
initiated efforts to improve the administration of justice in Iowa. Edmondson
has been District Court Administrator for 16 years.
After the Cedar River crested and
water poured into the lower two levels of the Linn County Courthouse last
summer, all communications in the building were gone and 90 percent of the
court records were damaged. Edmondson and District Six Chief Judge David Remley faced the task of finding temporary facilities,
moving out of the flooded courthouse and reestablishing communications. Within
days, staff was in place and working at four locations: the Jones County
Courthouse, Kirkwood Community College, a building downtown and a local high school.
Then, in September, Edmondson
facilitated the move back to the upper floors of the courthouse. "Carroll faced
an almost impossible challenge, but he put his exceptional leadership,
problem-solving and organizational skills to use and got the job done,"
according to Linn County Clerk of Court Sharon Modracek.
Court Innovation Award
Juvenile Court Supervisor Bernardine Bordignon, Sixth
Judicial District, is the recipient of the Court Innovation Award, given in
recognition of a court official who has demonstrated leadership in the
development and implementation of an innovative program that has improved the
delivery of court services, public access to the courts, or the administration
of justice. Bordignon is honored for her work to
reduce disproportion of minority contact (DMC) in the
juvenile court system
Bordignon created programs in the Sixth District to build public
trust and to identify low risk offenders through improved intake processing.
She streamlined the intake system from 12 people working separately to a single
person that she directs, guides, and instructs on how to identify low risk
juveniles in the system. She also instituted a screening tool to help
identify low risk offenders, took training in a family focused treatment program
and other best practice techniques, and developed low risk experts within the
Sixth District to find the appropriate services for the offender within and
outside the juvenile justice system. She also developed a community liaison
within her staff to make contact with minority families prior to intake who can
explain how the system works and include the family in legal decisions made on
their child's behalf. Bordignon was a Juvenile Court
Officer from 1980 until 1999 when she was promoted to Juvenile Court Supervisor.
Meritorious Service Award for
Magistrate
Cerro Gordo County Judicial
Hospitalization Referee William Keen is the recipient of one of five
Meritorious Service Awards given in recognition of court personnel who have
maintained a high level of service to the public and to the courts. Keen
is honored for his high standards of professionalism as a part-time judicial
officer.
Keen's 30-years experience provides
consistency and efficiency within the Cerro Gordo County mental health and
substance abuse commitment system. He is familiar with all of the care
providers and programs. He understands the resources and funding. He has
developed a rapport with the attorneys, clerks and care providers with whom he
works. Keen also has hearings at the local hospital, so the sheriff does not
need to transport the respondent between the hospital and the courthouse and
physicians do not need to travel between the hospitals and the
courthouse. His experience and approach to the hearings provide for a more
private and less imposing process for the respondents and their families.
Meritorious Service Award for
Administrative Employees
Karen Teig,
Court Reporter, Sixth Judicial District, is also honored with the Meritorious
Service Award. Teig is recognized for her professionalism
and courteous demeanor while working with judges, attorneys and the public.
Teig is president of the Iowa Court Reporters Association, and
reports periodically to the membership about issues pertinent to the reporting
profession. She also serves on the Judicial Technology Committee
and volunteers her time to promote the profession by speaking to students
at the courthouse and at career day events in the local high schools. As a
court reporter, Teig has 33 years of experience, has
obtained her realtime certification, and was
instrumental in implementation of the managing reporter position in the Sixth
District. The managing reporter is responsible for finding reporter
coverage for senior judges and for those judges whose reporter is on vacation, is
ill or is otherwise not available.
Meritorious Service Award for
Juvenile Court Services
Patty Redmond, Third Judicial
District Juvenile Court Specialist, is another recipient of the Meritorious
Service Award. She is honored for commitment to the juvenile justice
system through her continued efforts not only at Juvenile Court Services but
also through her volunteer work in the community.
Redmond developed a community
service and restitution program that is responsive to victims and the community
while holding the juvenile offender accountable for their actions. Redmond's
program focuses on providing assistance with yard work and snow removal to
elderly and handicapped citizens. She also involves the community service crews
in fund raising activities for various worthy causes and in city beautification
programs. She organized an effort with the Sioux City Police Department and
other concerned citizens to quickly paint over graffiti in Sioux City. The
group purchased a van and equipment including a spectrometer, computer and
paint mixing machine to match the paint of the damaged structure on-site for
immediate restoration. The response time has been shortened to 24 hours
following the report of the graffiti incident. Redmond has been a Juvenile
Court Specialist since 1990.
Meritorious Service Award for Clerk
of Court Office
Appellate Court Clerk Melinda Allen
is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Award for Clerk of Court Office
Employees. Allen was nominated by attorneys in the appellate defender's
office for her diligence in ensuring that criminal and juvenile appeals proceed
expediently through the appellate process, and for the courteous and patient
assistance she extends to attorneys, their staff and litigants.
Allen's attention to detail ensures
that common service and filing errors do not derail the progression of appeals,
that appellate counsel is quickly appointed to indigent defendants, and that
problems encountered by the court and counsel in obtaining the full trial court
record are quickly resolved if not avoided altogether. Allen's close
monitoring of each expedited child in need of assistance and termination of
parental rights case has also been instrumental to the court's goal to achieve
permanency for children as quickly as possible.
Teamwork Award
All Linn County Court employees are
the recipients of the Court Teamwork Award given in recognition of a person or
group of employees who consistently exemplify the ability to work together
effectively to achieve established goals and boost morale and help create a
work environment where teamwork typifies working relationships.
The Linn County Court employees are
honored for their quick response to the record flooding in Cedar Rapids last
summer that closed down the courthouse and the juvenile Court Service office.
Within three days of the flood, the clerk's office was operating out of the
Jones County Clerk's office. Within one week, phones, computer lines,
equipment and files had been moved to the temporary courthouse at Kirkwood Community
College. More than 50 clerks worked in one large, windowless room for
three-and-one-half months. Each day, two to three clerks spent hours in
the courthouse where they pulled files that were not destroyed by the flood for
the next day's court hearings, and kept other files up to date. Four District
Associate Judges and four court reporters were housed in one room, and often
had 2-3 separate court proceedings going on at one time. Two juvenile
judges and two court reporters shared another room. District court judges
and court reporters shared the two other rooms, and sometime shared spaced with
court administration. Court administration used a large room that served
as their working space, storage area for everyone, and working areas for the administrative
judge and other judges.
Juvenile Court services worked out
of their homes, a single room in the juvenile detention facility and from the
trunks of their cars until they were moved into a building downtown. Linn
County magistrates held initial appearance court in the Jones County Courthouse
twice each day and once each evening for weeks, until the sheriff and the
department of corrections and the court worked out a way to handle daily
arrests in the absence of a jail. Finally, the ICIS
staff helped reconnect the computers for the second largest county clerk's
office in the state in one week's time.
Court Customer Service Award
Judicial Clerk for the 3rd Judicial
District, Terry Hansen, is the recipient of the Court Customer Service Award
given in recognition of a person or group of employees who have maintained a
consistent level of superior service to the public, attorneys, judges, and
others utilizing court services and who have significantly improved court
services.
Hansen is honored for her professional
standards and commitment to quality customer service. She is an invaluable
asset as a frontline representative in the Woodbury County Clerk of Court
office. She provides thoughtful analysis on how internal procedures could be
improved to enhance overall office efficiency. Working smarter and solving old
problems with new strategies enabled the Woodbury County Clerk of Court office
to succeed during difficult budget times.
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2009
Iowa Supreme Court
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952
