Published: July 08, 2008 11:43 pm            

Hearing on annexation injunction delayed

Judge Jessup recuses himself from case

A scheduled hearing on the request for a temporary injunction against the planned east side annexation by the City of Kokomo has been continued.

The hearing was set for today in Superior Court 2 on a motion filed by attorney Dan May.

The hearing was continued after Superior Court 2 Judge Stephen Jessup recused from hearing the case.

The temporary injunction could delay the city’s annexation process.

Derek Sublette, attorney for the city, said Judge Jessup will probably name a panel of three judges from which both sides have seven days to agree on a judge to hear the case.

Jessup had previously recused himself in a case filed by Indianapolis attorney John Price challenging the city’s planned West Side annexation.

The panel of judges named to replace Jessup in that hearing are former Indiana attorney general Linley Pearson, who is now a Circuit Court judge in Clinton County; Tipton Circuit Court Judge Thomas Lett; and Grant Superior Court 3 Judge Natalie Conn.

Remonstrators from both the east side and west side annexation areas are hoping to kill Mayor Greg Goodnight’s plan in court, alleging the city didn’t follow proper notification procedures and hasn’t provided accurate information to the public.

Goodnight is seeking to annex 14.2 square miles of unincorporated Howard County into the city, a plan he said would take Kokomo from the 16th largest city in Indiana to the 12th largest.

His annexation plan is divided into two parts, each of which must be passed as a separate ordinance by the Kokomo Common Council.

        

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