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Sunday, February 10, 2008

Ind. Law - Still more on: Uzelac's name ordered removed from May 8 primary ballot

Updating a long list of ILB entries on the question of whether a convicted felon may run for office in Indiana, Chas Reilly of the NWI Times reported Saturday:

MERRILLVILLE | Former Town Councilman David Uzelac's appeal of a ruling that left him ineligible to run for public office in the 2007 general election has been tossed out of appeals court.

The dismissal comes almost a year since Lake Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo issued an order instructing the Lake County elections board to declare Uzelac ineligible to run for Town Council, to reject his declaration of candidacy and to remove his name from the primary ballot.

That decision came after current Councilman Tom Goralczyk challenged Uzelac's right to run for re-election because of a criminal past.

Uzelac, who had served as the 4th Ward town councilman since 1998, pleaded guilty more than two decades ago to the 1984 theft of cash from the former Captain D's restaurant on U.S. 30 in Merrillville.

A loophole in state law at the time permitted Uzelac to hold public office because the sentencing judge in his case reduced his crime from a felony to a misdemeanor. A 2005 Indiana law closed that loophole.

There is no COA opinion on this; instead there is an Order (in 45 A 04 - 0705 - CV - 00274 UZELAC, DAVID, ET AL.-V- GORALCZYK, TOM) issued by Chief Judge Baker, Judges May and Robb, and Sr. Judge Hoffman, dated Jan. 18, 2008, granting the State's motion to dismiss the appeal as moot. Upon review on Jan. 29, 2008, the panel, with Sr. J. Hoffman dissenting, reaffirms their dismissal of the appeal.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 10, 2008 11:46 AM
Posted to Indiana Law