News release from the Allen Superior Court:
Superior Court Magistrate Ummel to Retire In April
Court launches search for successor; applications due March 13
(February 25, 2015) – After 27 years’ experience serving the citizens of Allen County, Allen Superior Court Magistrate Judge Jerry L. Ummel has announced his retirement.
Ummel has served as a judicial officer since 1988, when he was appointed as a Magistrate/Referee in the Allen Superior Court Misdemeanor and Traffic Court. He has served in his current position in 1991, when Ummel was appointed as Magistrate Judge in the Small Claims Court. His retirement is effective April 21, 2015.
“Replacing someone like Jerry Ummel will be a daunting task,” said Judge Craig J. Bobay, supervising Judge of the Allen Superior Court Small Claims Court. “His experience, wisdom and complete dedication have been invaluable to the Court. Judge Ummel has served our community with distinction.”
Allen Superior Court will begin the search for a new magistrate immediately. Applications for the position are available beginning today (Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015). Applicants can obtain an application by contacting Allen Superior Court Executive John McGauley by email at john.mcgauley@allensuperiorcourt.us. Applications must be submitted electronically by 12:30 p.m. EST on Friday, March 13, 2015.
The electronic application form is also being provided to the Indiana and Allen County Bar Associations, the Indiana Supreme Court and a number of Indiana law schools for online distribution. (The job posting, including information on responsibilities and qualifications required of a Magistrate, are also included with this news release).
Judge Ummel received his undergraduate degree from Ball State University in 1976. After teaching middle school, Ummel entered law school in 1980 and graduated from Indiana University School of Law (Indianapolis, now the McKinney School of Law) in 1983. His first job in the legal profession was as a Law Clerk to former Allen Superior Court Judge Robert L. Hines, during 1983 and 1984. He later worked as an associate with the Fort Wayne law firm of Gray and Arata.
During his tenure, Judge Ummel gave back to the community in many ways. He taught evening law classes at IPFW for nearly a decade. He also served on the Protection Order Committee of the Judicial Conference of Indiana for many years. During that time, Judge Ummel and the Protection Order Committee were instrumental in overhauling Indiana law regarding Protection Orders.
At the completion of that process, more than 70 pages of the Indiana Code were created or modified. As an illustration of the growth of that area of the law, in Judge Ummel’s first year in Small Claims Court, there were fewer than 200 Protection Orders issued. In 2014, the Allen Superior Court Small Claims Court heard more than 3,900 new petitions seeking for Orders for Protection.
“In his 27 years on the bench, Judge Ummel conducted approximately 25,000 trials,” Judge Bobay added. “That fact speaks volumes about his success as a judicial officer. The Judges and staff of the Allen Superior Court thank Judge Ummel for his many years of service and wish him well in his new endeavors.”
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