ASSIGNMENT 3: INDIANA GOVERNMENT & FOREIGN LAW 1
Part One: Indiana Government
There are numerous parts and players in government in Indiana. The Supreme Court
Justices and the dates they took office are as follows: Justice Loretta H. Rush (November 7,
2012), Justice Steven H. David (October 18, 2010), Justice Mark S. Massa (April 2, 2012),
Justice Geoffrey G. Slaughter (June 13, 2016), and Justice Christopher M. Goff (July 24, 2017).
The Lieutenant Governor of Indiana is Suzanne Crouch and she took office on January 9, 2017.
The Judges of the Court of Appeals for the district of my residence, Marion County, are Judge
James S. Kirsch who is the presiding Judge, Judge Cale J. Bradford, and Judge Robert R. Altice,
Jr. The local court contact information for the Marion County Trial Court is as follows: Circuit
Court telephone number is 317.327.4010 and the fax is 317.327.4473, the address is 200 East
Washington Street, Suite W506, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. For both the civil and criminal
divisions of the Superior Court: the address is 200 East Washington Street, Suite T1221,
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204, telephone 317.327.4747 and fax number is 317.327.3844. The
contact information for the Marion County Clerk’s Office is Myla Eldridge, 200 East
Washington Street, Suite W122, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204, telephone number 317.327.4740
and fax number 317.327.3893
Part Two: Foreign Law
The American and Canadian legal systems share commonalities and differences. Both
countries have a written constitution which is the supreme law of the land. These constitutions
establish the framework of the government, give that government the right or power to make
certain laws, and define the obligations of that government to its people (Hames & Ekern, 2015).
Both countries have something that is similar to the Bill of Rights for America. In Canada it is
called the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Both of these documents protect the basic
ASSIGNMENT 3: INDIANA GOVERNMENT & FOREIGN LAW 2
rights and freedoms that are essential to keeping both America and Canada a free and democratic
society (Canadian charter of rights and freedoms, 2017). Both the American and the Canadian
systems of government are comprised of three branches. They are the judicial, legislative and
executive branches. The roles of each of the branches in Canada are similar to their roles in
America.
Both American and Canadian legal systems are based on the common law tradition with
the exception of Quebec which uses civil law tradition (Where our legal system comes from,
2017). The common law system in both the American system and the Canadian system are
based on precedent. This means that when a particular legal dispute arises that has already been
decided by the court, it must be resolved again in the same way. Civil law tradition, used only in
Quebec, uses a civil code comprised of comprehensive rules which are looked at first and then
