INDIANAPOLIS – Two professors at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business have been appointed to the newly formed Indiana Innovation Initiative, established by the Indiana Supreme Court.
Loretta H. Rush, chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, issued an order on Sept. 24 establishing the initiative and task forces on family law and technology. Those involved are expected to produce a report of their findings and recommendations to the court by July of 2021.
“Indiana has been a national leader in justice reform in areas such as evidence-based decision-making, pretrial release, problem-solving courts, and commercial courts,” Rush said. “Additional innovation opportunities now present themselves in Indiana, designed to make Indiana’s system of justice more efficient, less expensive, and easier to navigate while continuing to ensure that justice is fairly administered and the rights of all litigants protected.”
Scott Shackelford, associate professor of business law and ethics, Cybersecurity Program Chair at IU Bloomington and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance (pictured left); and Roger Schmenner, professor emeritus of operations management and Kelley’s former associate dean at Indianapolis (pictured right), are joining more than 35 others on this project. They will primarily contribute to the initiative’s task force on technology.
The group, which includes many leaders in the legal community such as Chasity Thompson, assistant dean for student affairs at the IU McKinney School of Law, and Amy Applegate, clinical professor and the Ralph F. Fuchs Faculty Fellow at the IU Maurer School of Law, will analyze research on justice reform, assess the impact of reform efforts in other states, identify innovative strategies to manage different case types, and make recommendations to the Indiana Supreme Court for best practices surrounding Indiana’s justice system structures and procedures.
“I am excited to be a part of this effort,” Schmenner said. “I have spent years researching productivity in all sorts of areas, and I’m delighted that the Indiana Supreme Court is willing to investigate the many processes surrounding the court systems in Indiana, to make them more efficient and to have them serve our citizens better. The mission is a broad one and the results could be both significant and novel.”
“I am thrilled by the opportunity to serve the state that has given me so much by participating in this important Supreme Court initiative,” Shackelford added. “Technology can be an enabler for both greater efficiency, and transparency, if we strike the appropriate balance. I’m looking forward to doing my part to help ensure that the Indiana Judiciary is a leader in the responsible use of court technology, which will help promote access to justice, digital privacy, and cybersecurity.”