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Saturday, November 08, 2008
Ind. Courts - More on: Panel recommends Marion County Superior Court Judge Grant W. Hawkins removal
Updating yesterday's ILB entry, Will Higgins has this report today in the Indianapolis Star. Some quotes:
The panel said it would have recommended a suspension for Hawkins except that the judge was less than helpful during the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications' investigation. It wrote that Hawkins "did not fully investigate the facts before he responded to the commission, and for that reason his responses were not factually correct and were flawed in many respects." * * *A side-bar sets out a timeline:Broyles and Hawkins "could give no explanation why the Buntin order was not effectuated immediately after Commissioner Broyles prepared it in May 2006," said the three-judge panel of Marianne L. Vorhees, Terry C. Shewmaker and Clarence D. Murray.
In March 2007, the commission got involved and found Broyles' error. Broyles issued a new decision, but Buntin was not freed until April. Broyles has since resigned her post.
Hawkins has had a long legal career in Indianapolis. He practiced law for 27 years before being elected judge in 2000. A Democrat, he ran again in 2006 and won re-election.
A 2008 Indianapolis Bar Association survey found he commands wide respect among lawyers -- 90 percent of respondents approved of his work.
Buntin, who did not return a reporter's phone calls, in January sued Marion Superior Court. He also sued his lawyer, Carolyn Rader, and court records show the two reached a settlement.
The three-judge panel noted that Hawkins and Broyles "came very close to putting the blame on Ms. Rader" for the inertia in the case. But the judges concluded Rader had tried repeatedly to speed the case, only to be brushed off by Hawkins' staffers.
In their findings, the judges detail an office poorly organized and bogged down in paperwork. The judges noted the existence in Hawkins' office of a "Can't Find File." Into it the "staff put pleadings and correspondence for which they could not locate the file. Some materials stayed in the file for months, even one or more years."
The matter now goes to the Indiana Supreme Court, which has the final say on Hawkins' future.
The commission, which brought the charges against Hawkins, has 20 days to file a response to the decision with the state high court.
After that filing, Hawkins is permitted a response. "We'll definitely file one," said Hawkins' lawyer, Kevin McGoff.
It's rare for judges to be tossed from the bench.
In 2004, the Indiana Supreme Court removed Lake County Judge Joan Kouros after she was twice suspended for mismanaging her office, creating a substantial backlog of cases. Kouros told the commission she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The following year, Elkhart County Judge Benjamin Pfaff was dismissed for allegedly pulling a gun on an 18-year-old while looking for his runaway daughter.
» Aug. 4, 1984: A 22-year-old clerk at a Northside cleaners is robbed and raped. She eventually identifies Harold David Buntin, then 15, as her attacker.
» April 1986: Buntin's case goes to trial. He flees before it ends but is convicted in absentia of armed robbery and rape.
» 1994: After an unrelated arrest in Florida, police discover Buntin is a fugitive and send him back to Indiana. He is sentenced to 50 years in prison for the rape and robbery.
» March 2005: New DNA evidence is presented during a post-conviction relief hearing before Marion Superior Court Master Commissioner Nancy L. Broyles, working under elected Judge Grant Hawkins. Buntin's attorney argues the evidence clears Buntin of the crime.
» August, November 2005: Buntin sends letters asking the court why a decision has not been issued.
» May 2006: Broyles signs a decision granting Buntin's request to set aside his conviction, which could have led to an appeal by the state, a new trial or his release. But the court fails to notify either party, and the file later is lost. Broyles, who initially reported signing the decision in May 2005, later said she likely finished it one year later, in May 2006.
» January 2007: Buntin files a "lazy judge" complaint against the court.
» March: A review of Buntin's complaint by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications reveals the mistake, and Broyles issues a new decision after the file is found. But Buntin's release is not ordered, giving the state 30 days to decide whether to appeal.
» April: Buntin is released after a hearing before Hawkins, who apologizes for the delays.
» January 2008: Buntin files suit against Marion Superior Court for mishandling the case. He earlier sued his attorney, accusing her of failing to press the court during the nearly two-year lapse.
» April: The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications files notice of 11 disciplinary charges against Hawkins and 10 against Broyles.
» October 2008: The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications convenes a hearing in the allegations against Hawkins.
» October 2008: The Indiana Supreme Court bans Broyles from serving as a judge, even temporarily.
» Friday: The panel issues a recommendation that Hawkins be removed from office.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 8, 2008 08:31 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts