Judge David Happe
Madison County, Indiana
Circuit Court 4
Appointed to the bench in 2009, Judge David Happe has served the citizens of Madison County in Circuit Court 4 over the last eleven years. Circuit Court 4 is the highest volume circuit court in the county handling all types of cases including divorce, custody, child visitation, personal injury, criminal and collections. It also handles small claims cases which include collections, evictions, and disputes under $8000. Judge David Happe will appear on the November ballot.
Collaborating to Address Madison County Challenges
Since assuming the bench in 2009, Judge Happe has worked to build consensus with local and state level leaders to have a positive impact in the community, leading reforms for Madison County citizens struggling with foreclosure, addiction, and incarceration.
Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement Conferences
Mortgage foreclosure impacts every Madison County community. Early in his tenure, Judge Happe worked with the State of Indiana to pilot a program in Madison County connecting homeowners facing foreclosure with lenders and professional facilitators. In some cases, homeowners were able to negotiate refinancing agreements, and in others, they were able to negotiate exit plans with dignity. This program is ongoing in Madison County today.
Addiction
Vivitrol Therapy
Collaborating with the sheriff, a team of criminal justice professionals, and health providers, Judge Happe worked to bring innovative opiate treatment to addicted persons in Madison County during his second term. Opiate-blocking medication coupled with traditional drug treatment has increased the success and rehabilitation of people charged with low-level drug offenses.
Data Driven Solutions
In 2015 Judge Happe strongly advocated for the implementation of electronic filing to improve transparency and reduce costs making Madison County the fifth county in Indiana to adopt this system. Using the data collected electronically, Madison County courts were able to analyze the effectiveness of the Problem Solving Courts.
Inequity in Bail
In 2016 the Supreme Court of Indiana adopted Criminal Rule 26 instructing courts to use an evidence based risk assessment instead of money bail to determine whether to release someone arrested for a crime. Acknowledging the inequity of the bail system, Judge Happe chaired the working group that rebuilt Madison County’s bail system to meet this requirement. Beginning in January of 2020, this system was implemented. The county has moved away from a system that focused almost solely on how much money the accused could pay, toward a system that focuses on risks to public safety, and ensuring that people released from jail show up for criminal proceedings.
Current Issues
Covid -19
In March of 2020 when the courthouse was abruptly closed due to the Covid -19 virus, Judge Happe worked with other judges to quickly implement Zoom hearings to replace temporarily in person legal proceedings. The virtual option is not ideal, but it has allowed many individuals to have their cases move forward in spite of the shut down. Judge Happe was particularly concerned the courts not make assumptions about individuals access to technology necessary for virtual hearings.
“There was a concern that doing everything remotely we were making assumptions about how people could communicate with us. We did not want to assume everyone had a phone with a webcam available. Not everyone has that. Especially with the population we deal with in small claims cases. We have a lot of lower income folks who may not have a computer at all. So what we have done is stay flexible with people talk to people and find out what their resources are. If all they have is a friend with a cell phone we can make that work. We are able to partner people who appear with Zoom with those who just have a cell phone and we can still talk about the meat of their hearing without having to focus on the devices they have.” Judge David Happe
Racial Inequity
Out of concern for the impacts of racial bias, Judge Happe and other Madison County judges have asked the state to assist them in creating tools to analyze case data to identify any patterns of bias in criminal sentencing. The COVID-19 crisis has slowed this process, but Judge Happe and other judges want this information to be publicly available.