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Monday, February 04, 2008

Ind. Courts - More on "Carroll County judge charged with public intoxication"

Updating this ILB entry from Dec. 29, 2007, Debbie Lowe of the Carroll County Comet reports:

Carroll Circuit Court Judge Donald Currie pled not guilty at an initial hearing Dec. 26 after being arrested for public intoxication Dec. 23 in Boone County. A bench trial was scheduled for March at the initial hearing, but Currie then scheduled a plea agreement for Feb. 19. However, that date was moved up when Currie pled and was found guilty in Boone County Superior Court II by Judge Rebecca McClure Jan. 22.

According to the Lebanon Reporter, Currie was found guilty of a Class B misdemeanor and issued a 180-day suspended sentence with credit given for his day in the Boone County Jail. Currie was ordered to pay $450 legal fees and his drivers' license was restricted. [ILB - Here is the 1/25/08 story from the Lebanon Reporter.]

Currie's case could be investigated by the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission concerning judicial conduct violations. According to Meg Babcock, supervisor for the counsel to the commission, that process is completely separate from the court case and is not a matter of public record until the time formal charges are filed with the Indiana Supreme Court.

"There is a lot the commission can do short of filing charges," Babcock said.

She said there could be no investigation, suspension from office without pay and other remedies which include fines, removal from office or disbarment. She called removal from office the "ultimate sanction." Babcock said the Indiana Supreme Court would be the entity to decide upon the sanction if charges were filed. The commission would be making a recommendation to that court.

Babcock referred the Comet to two similar cases investigated by the commission in the past two years. In both cases, the judges stipulated to the facts of the cases and their "misconduct." Both were issued a "public reprimand" for their behavior.

See this ILB entry from Dec. 18, 2007, which discusses similar Indiana and Illinois incidents.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 4, 2008 01:42 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts