In the Matter of the Adoption of Minor Children: J.T.D. and J.S.: Ind. Dept. of Child Services v. N.E.

RUSH, Chief Justice.

Local rules cannot confer, revoke, or override subject matter jurisdiction, but they may properly prescribe venue — the particular location among courts that have jurisdiction for cases to be heard. Here, the Lake Superior Court has four divisions, “civil (including probate), criminal, county, and juvenile,” Ind.Code §§ 33-33-45-3, -21(a) (2008), none of which is a “separate probate court” that would have exclusive adoption jurisdiction, see I.C. § 31-19-l-2(a). N.E. filed two adoption petitions in one of the Civil Division courts, violating a local rule that all adoptions…