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Saturday, December 09, 2006

Ind. Courts - "Judge removes self from burglary case"

Patrick M. O'Connell of the South Bend Tribune writes:

A judge who refused to accept a plea agreement because of concerns about the leniency of the binding sentence has removed himself from the case.

St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jerome Frese's action means the case of Justin D. Maike, who was on probation when he was charged in March with felony attempted burglary, will be assigned to another judge.

Maike's plea, which included no prison time, is null and void, according to the judge's order.

Frese's removal order came about six weeks after the judge balked at Maike's plea deal and asked Prosecutor Michael Dvorak to personally approve the agreement by Election Day.

Dvorak never responded to the judge's request.

Frese recused himself according to state criminal courts rules which allow for a change of judge to prevent bias or prejudice. The judge's order cited no specific reasons for stepping aside.

See this earlier ILB entry from Oct. 19, referencing a still-accessible Tribune story.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 9, 2006 12:30 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts