Judge Suspended For Three Days

An Indiana Superior Court Judge was suspended without pay for three business days by order of the Indiana Supreme Court. The judge’s son had died accidently and his drug use was a contributing factor. The judge attended the sentencing on weapons charges before another judge of a defendant “whom [he] believed played a tangential or indirect role in his son’s drug use…” and stated to prosecutors “[l]aw abiding citizen, my ass!…[the defendant] was a ‘drug dealer.’ ” He also asked people in the front row if they were related to “that piece of shit?”

The court found that mitigating factors warranted the sanction. He had only intended to observe the sentencing hearing and has taken measures to address his grief. One aggravating factor was a prior public admonition for taking action in his son’s misdemeanor case. (Mike Frisch)