Appellate Judge Michael McHaney held a ribbon cutting and open house Thursday evening for his Salem office.
McHaney says there was never a question that he would select Salem to have his office and the remodeling by the owner of the WPA-1936 building on West Main Street has provided him a great office area.
“We have been zooming oral arguments because the courthouse in Mt Vernon has been under renovation. That is complete and we have our first in-person live oral arguments at the courthouse in Mt Vernon this week. So that’s working out great. Each Justice has their chambers in whatever location they desire. We communicate daily by email. We zoom conferences and with technology the way it is, it’s easy to function.”
With the renovation done at the Appellate Courthouse in Mt. Vernon, the justices will all travel to Mt. Vernon one week a month to hear oral arguments.
McHaney says he has been able to hear a lot of interesting cases in his first year. He has a staff of three including administrative assistant and law clerk Tara Steele who was an Assistant State’s Attorney in Marion County before joining Judge McHaney. The other two staff members are long-time law clerks Brenda Jones and Carma Smith.
The WCP-1936 building is owned by Becky Carpenter-Timmerman and has been renovated from the original post office and later Bryan Bennett Library location. The building also houses Benjamin Edwards Financial and the Law Offices of Debbie Woodruff.
