Campaign News
Herald Times April 14, 2008 "Keys to the Candidates"
Elizabeth Cure
Democrat, seat 9What are your qualifications for the office you are seeking?
My qualifications for judge include 17 years of trial and appellate experience in all aspects of criminal and civil law, multicultural teaching experience, and community organization and grant writing experience.
What programs will you use to address overcrowding at the jail?To address jail overcrowding, we can either build bigger jails or find ways to reduce the jail population by reducing recidivism and criminal behavior. I support the latter through creation of grant-based programs for truancy mentoring, probation mentoring, juvenile detention prevention, and substance-abuse/mental-health partnering among treatment programs, counseling services, and the courts. The jail is overpopulated by 33% with probation violators making up 33% ; thus, a sound probation-mentoring program alone would go a long way to reducing the overcrowding. Collaborative efforts have worked in other states to reduce the incidence and seriousness of crime and should work here too.
If elected, what are your specific goals for your tenure as judge?My specific goals for my tenure as judge will be to begin court on time and keep cases moving expeditiously; to get orders and decisions out within 7 - 10 days; and to write grants for programs that will alleviate jail overcrowding and improve the quality of life in our community. I will work with other agencies and offices to coordinate efforts toward community-based programs designed to reduce the incidence and seriousness of crime as well as recidivism. I will use my skills to develop mentoring programs for at-risk youth to help them avoid getting involved in delinquent activity.
Canidate Statement
Contact info: Elizabeth Cure 330-6886; curelaws@gmail.com
Elizabeth Cure, an attorney in Monroe County, has announced her candidacy for a term as judge in the Monroe Circuit Courts. Cure believes that her experience as a trial attorney and her appellate work make her well suited to the bench. "From my legal work and life experience, I will bring a dedication and conscientiousness to the bench as a Judge in Monroe County. I have long wanted to become a Judge and use my skills, my experience, and my enthusiasm to enhance the Monroe County community."
Elizabeth Cure believes that her wide-ranging experience, her dedication to excellence, and her enthusiasm for the law make her ideally suited to become a judge. Before becoming an attorney, Cure taught in the Indianapolis Public Schools. She also taught English as a foreign language at the Mexican-North American Cultural Institute in Guadalajara, Mexico for four years. After returning from Mexico, Cure taught both remedial grammar and advanced expository writing at IUPUI. Besides this varied teaching experience, Elizabeth formed her own scout troupe here in Bloomington, a mix of boys and girls ages 5 to 8 which she ran for four years. The scouts studied various topics of science and natural history.
In addition to the scouts, Ms. Cure has participated in poverty causes. She was on the Board of Directors of the United Church of Christ Homeless Shelter Project in Evansville, IN. While serving on the board, she helped write and received a $400,000 federal grant to develop a new shelter that included housing. She also cooked breakfast and dinner for 150 homeless men and women once a month on Saturdays for four years.
This wide range of experiences combined with a dedication to excellence, reflected in her work in graduate school and her graduation with honors from Law School, have helped prepare her for a judicial seat. Besides these qualities, Cure brings an enthusiasm for the law.
Cure has practiced criminal and civil law for the past sixteen years both in private practice and as an attorney for Legal Services Organization. She graduated with Honors from Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington, in 1989. She is a member of the Monroe County Bar Association, the Democratic Women's Club, and the Democratic Women's Caucus. In addition, she currently volunteers as a pro bono attorney for the Middle Way House.
