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Thursday, March 02, 2006

Ind. Coruts - More on: Ex-aide to Clark County judge target of inquiry

Updating the ILB entry from Feb. 24th, that included this Louisville Courier Journal quote: "Clark Superior Court Judge Jerry Jacobi called yesterday for a special prosecutor to investigate the activities of his former chief of staff, who resigned earlier this month after seven years of service," the LCJ reports today, in a story by Alex Davis:

A special prosecutor from Vanderburgh County was appointed yesterday to investigate the actions of a former top employee in Clark Superior Court 1.

The exact nature of the allegations is unclear, but Superior 1 Judge Jerry Jacobi wrote in a letter last week that they involve his former chief of staff, Jerry Lemmons, who resigned last month. * * *

The special prosecutor is Stan Levco, who said yesterday in an interview from Evansville that he didn't plan to take action on the case until mid-May.

Jacobi, a former Clark County prosecutor, has been on the bench since 1995. He is up for re-election this year, and faces opposition in the May 2 Democratic primary.

Levco wouldn't comment on the allegations. He said one possible course of action would be to convene a special grand jury to look into the matter.

Bruce Hartman, the state examiner of the Indiana State Board of Accounts, said his agency is conducting a special audit of Jacobi's court.

The results of that audit could lead to additional action before the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission, which investigates judicial misconduct. The commission can recommend sanctions ranging from a private reprimand to a judge being removed from office.

In 1999, Indiana's chief justice signed an order suspending Jacobi for three days without pay for violating judicial canons. The penalty stemmed from a case involving a restraining order that Jacobi issued.

The newer allegations involving Lemmons will be heard in Clark Circuit Court. Judge Daniel Donahue, who has presided over that court for the last 19 years, said the case was highly unusual but declined to comment further. "I'm troubled by the recent revelations," he said.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 2, 2006 10:18 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts