Dwiya Cobb took a seat in a long hallway on the eighth floor of the Community Justice Campus, unsure of how this legal proceeding with her landlord was supposed to play out.
She’d never been to court for an eviction before.
And this was an unfamiliar place. Cobb knew about the jail in the large campus that opened in 2022, but not Marion Superior Court.
As intimidating as the setting can be, though, Cobb had an advantage that thousands of other people in her position haven’t: An attorney was there to talk her through the process and negotiate with the landlord’s lawyer on her behalf.
Now, Cobb has until Oct. 23 to get caught up on rent and late fees. Otherwise, she’s not sure where she and her son will stay.
The attorney, Jack Humphrey, was at court Wednesday afternoon as part of a network of lawyers who offer free legal advice to people facing eviction. The city pays the lawyers using COVID-19 relief funds.
For years, they’ve already been working inside the less formal small claims courtrooms in each of the nine townships. But landlords have increasingly been taking their cases to the more formal Marion Superior Court, which has seen the number of evictions filed increase every year since 2021.
Now, attorneys with the Office of Public Health and Safety’s Tenant Advocacy Project will play a bigger role in what has become a preferred setting for landlords. It’s a new sight for the court, where a recent change to eviction proceedings has made it more practical for the band of attorneys to help level the playing field for renters.
Superior Court adapts eviction process
Cobb’s court date came on the second day of the new process for eviction cases.
Any eviction filed will go to Judge Patricia McMath, and cases will be lined up back-to-back on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Previously, evictions filed in Superior Court were randomly assigned across nine courtrooms, and court dates didn’t follow a pattern. Meanwhile, an eviction hearing could be going on at the same time as a murder trial in another courtroom. And the jail is in the same building.
Now, with one judge handling cases on a predictable schedule, the Tenant Advocacy Project can make Superior Court a priority, along with the township courts where attorneys already work.
For Cobb, that meant chatting with Humphrey next to a large pillar in the hallway.
She explained how a car crash left her unable to continue working as a driver for Uber for almost a month, so she fell behind on rent.
Cobb tried doing quick math in her head to see how much she owes — two months of rent plus $50 late fees plus a $650 fee that her landlord adds when an eviction is filed.
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“Bust-my-butt money,” she said.
The actual number is $3,493.
Humphrey talked to the landlord’s attorney for a few minutes before returning with good news: She has three weeks to catch up.
They went in front of Judge McMath in an empty courtroom, and the two sides formalized their agreement.
Cobb said she’s never had a good experience in court and without Humphrey’s help would’ve been even more nervous than she already was.
“It was a lot easier and more calming than it would have been if he wasn’t there,” she said.
Why some landlords avoid township courts
The way Cobb’s case took shape is reminiscent of what happens in township courts, which is where most eviction cases are filed in Marion County.
But as township small claims courts slowly became more friendly venues for tenants — thanks especially to an eviction diversion program — some landlords began taking their cases to Marion Superior Court.
It cost Cobb’s landlord $157 to file for eviction in Superior Court, as opposed to the $104 it would have cost to file in the small claims court in Washington Township, where she lives.
But the move to Superior Court is becoming more common.
In 2023, there were 1,892 eviction filings. This year, that number already was approaching 1,600 by the time Cobb was there.
Advocates and attorneys say it can be jarring for someone to go to Superior Court — rather than their local township court — for an eviction.
Fran Quigley, a law professor at Indiana University and the director of the law school’s Health and Human Rights Clinic, said it’s inconvenient for someone to have to leave their community for a larger, more formal court setting.
Speaking before the change went into effect, Quigley said as long as evictions are filed in Superior Court, he hopes this adjustment leads to better outcomes for renters.
“The goal,” he said, “is to have the process be as fair as possible for the tenants who are at risk of losing their home.”
Cobb said she was surprised that her case was at Superior Court.
“I was like, ‘What? Where’s that?’” she said.
But Cobb was able to find her way, in part because her Uber trips sometimes take her to the Community Justice Campus.
Now, with a few weeks to drive, Cobb is confident she’ll make enough money to pay what she owes.
She’ll do it by working up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week — and would do more if Uber didn’t cap her.
A clarification was made on Oct. 8, 2024: This article has been updated to clarify the city pays Tenant Advocacy Project attorneys using COVID-19 relief funds.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers economics. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick.
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