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Paul
earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree
at Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington
in 1995. Paul earned his B.S. at Indiana
University in 1992, majoring in Political
Science, and minoring in Spanish. He was
on the Dean's Honor Roll five of eight semesters.
In
the summer of 1993, Paul started his legal
career after completing his first year of
law school. Paul gained experience litigating
criminal cases before he graduated from
law school. After graduating, he passed
the bar exam in his first attempt and was
hired as a full-time deputy prosecutor.
During
Paul's tenure as a deputy prosecutor, he
was specially chosen to head up the office's
first domestic violence unit, where he wrote
domestic violence protocols and successfully
handled many difficult felony cases.
Later,
Paul headed the Criminal Gang Unit, where
he worked in a multi-jurisdictional task
force involving numerous police departments.
He also began managing the $300,000+
budget of the Unit. Finally, Paul
was promoted to Supervising Deputy Prosecutor.
In addition to supervising the division
that prosecutes nearly 70% of the cases
in the office, he also administered multiple
budgets and programs.
Paul's
career has been devoted to the delivery
of justice. As a lawyer, he wanted
to be able to serve, protect, and treat
people with fairness, dignity, and compassion.
He learned to advocate for people
who had been abused, harmed, and victimized.
Having the opportunity to serve and
protect them was humbling and extremely
rewarding. As a prosecutor and now
as a Judge, he continues to acknowledge
the importance of treating people fairly,
with dignity, and compassion. For
more than a decade he has honed these desires,
qualities, and skills. They will guide
him as he serves as the next Circuit Court
Judge.
In
2006, Governor Mitch Daniels appointed Paul
to serve as Judge of the Carmel City Court.
Paul enthusiastically accepted the
position and has been managing an office
of seven court staff, eight bailiffs, and
numerous interns. The Carmel City
Court has jurisdiction over criminal misdemeanor
cases, infractions, and ordinance violations.
Last year, the Court's budget was
in excess of $600,000. Through careful
stewardship of taxpayer money, the Court
spent much less than budgeted. Paul
also instituted ways to save taxpayer money
by placing more of the operating expense
on the Defendant instead of the taxpayer.
Paul established early in his tenure as
judge that he is an effective court administrator.
In Paul's first year on the bench,
the court realized a 10% increase in case
filings. Paul championed restructuring
the court's schedule and other changes which
allowed the court to easily accommodate
the increased caseload. Additional improvements
Paul supported included increasing office
hours to better serve the public, and implementing
innovative ways to use technology to help
people resolve their cases.
Paul
has always maintained that community outreach
is vitally important for any leadership
position. Having the ability to interact
and educate constituents is one of the most
pleasing opportunities while serving as
Judge. Paul has spoken at numerous
schools, has invited many students to attend
court, and has taken part in mock trials
with dozens of children.
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