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he explained the situation was, "Are you an axe-murderer, or what? How could the judge do this <br /> to you?" The unique part of it was, if you know appellate practice, domestic cases are not <br /> something the appellate Courts like at all. They are afraid to ever reverse one (1)because that <br /> then opens the flood gate to all kinds of domestic cases going up on appeal. I lost in the Court of <br /> Appeals but the Supreme Court granted an oral argument and transferred the reverse and gave us <br /> the relief we wanted. So it was unique to get the Indiana Supreme Court to grant transfer and <br /> reverse the trial court on a domestic case. That is very, very difficult. To do that, I had to go back <br /> and trace the history of the language of the case where the original case had a full explanation of <br /> what the law was. As each case came down after that, the explanation got shorter and shorter. <br /> The newest case was much different from what the cases back in the 70s and 80s said. I had to <br /> trace all of those quotations back to show the court what the statute actually meant when it was <br /> first interpreted. <br /> Councilmember Ferlic asked, If you are selected for this contract, do you anticipate that we <br /> would contract with you, Bob Palmer, or would we contract with May Oberfell Lorber? If so, <br /> please explain how that would work and if there are any additional support services the firm <br /> would provide. <br /> Mr. Palmer replied, My original thought would be that you would contract with May Oberfell <br /> Lorber. I would be the point person responsible for attending the meetings. But, I would also <br /> have the support available to me at the firm like associates, library facilities, and internet, <br /> essentially anything I need. That was my initial thought. We could also do it, if it is a benefit to <br /> you,just like I do with the Law School. Any payment goes to the Law Firm and I still have the <br /> same available services. So from my point of view, it doesn't matter. Whatever would be most <br /> convenient to the Council. Either way, I would be the guy. <br /> Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to Council members for any additional questions. <br /> Councilmember John Voorde asked, Have you personally or has the firm contractually provided <br /> these services for any other municipality? <br /> Mr. Palmer replied, Yes, we have. Some of the smaller cities like Lakeville and Plymouth. They <br /> have been smaller cities. I was not the point person for those interactions. The reason I would be <br /> point person for this is because you guys are bigger and are much more demanding regarding <br /> what you need and when you need it. With my practice being primarily appellate practice, I'm in <br /> the office almost all the time. I may have two (2) court hearings a month so when you need <br /> something, I'm available for you. <br /> Councilmember Dr. David Varner asked, Out of curiosity, when you got the reversal on that <br /> case, what was your question"Are you an axe-murderer or what?" for? Would somebody else in <br /> your position have gotten the same result? <br /> Mr. Palmer replied, It was my experience saying"How can I make an impact on the court?How <br /> can I make them realize that this is wrong?" The way I thought I could do it was going way back <br /> and showing how the language had changed, while the law did not. Anyone could do it, but it <br /> was me choosing the most unique and best way to do it. <br /> 3 <br />