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Thursday, August 05, 2010

Ind. Court - A dozen Allen County residents challenge Allen Superior Court Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger’s re-election bid, citing judicial discipline he received in early 2009.

Rebecca S. Green has the story in today's Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. It begins:

A group of Allen County residents filed a challenge with the Indiana Election Commission against Allen Superior Court Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger’s re-election bid, citing judicial discipline he received in early 2009.

Filed Tuesday, the affidavit has the signatures of 12 “concerned Allen County citizens” who believe Scheibenberger should be taken off the ballot because he does not meet the standards under Indiana law. Most of the 12 are Republicans, active in the local conservative scene.

In January 2009, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a judicial disciplinary action against Scheibenberger. It suspended the judge for three days without pay over comments he made to a defendant’s family in another judge’s courtroom in November 2007 while in his robe, an action the court said was that of a grieving parent. [ILB: See this Jan. 21, 2009 ILB entry.]

The high court took action on the complaint filed by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications, an arm of the Indiana Supreme Court responsible for investigating complaints against judges throughout Indiana. [ILB: You may recognize the names of the members; they are also the Judicial Nominating Commission.]

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission investigates and prosecutes claims of misconduct against lawyers licensed in Indiana.

The group of citizens argues that Indiana law governing the selection of Allen County Superior Court judges prohibits people from running for election if they have had any Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission action.

But Scheibenberger argues, and other lawyers believe, the discipline issued in January 2009 does not disqualify the judge from seeking re-election.

“They are confusing the (Supreme Court’s) Disciplinary Commission with the Judicial Qualification Commission,” said Dan Sigler, a former county prosecutor who has handled a number of cases involving Indiana election law and spoke generally about this issue.

“Being disciplined as a judge does not prohibit one from being a judge,” Sigler said. “(The legislature is) saying if you’re disciplined as a lawyer you can’t run as a judge. If the legislature intended that to be the death penalty for sitting judges they would have said it.”

ILB: What is the statute at issue? It is IC Title 33 - Courts and court officers; Article 33 - Court system organization in each county; Chapter 2 - Allen County. IC 33-33-2-10 provides:
(a) To qualify as a candidate for Allen superior court judge, a person:
(1) must be a citizen of the United States domiciled in Allen County;
(2) must have at least five (5) years active practice of law, including cases involving matters assigned to the division in which the person would serve as judge;
(3) may not previously have had any disciplinary sanction imposed upon the person by the supreme court disciplinary commission of Indiana or any similar body in another state; and
(4) may not previously have been convicted of any felony.
(b) If a person does not qualify under subsection (a), the person may not be listed on the ballot as a candidate. However, an individual who was a judge of the court on January 1, 1984, does not have to comply with subsection (a)(2).
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.12.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 5, 2010 04:08 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts