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Friday, August 08, 2008

Ind. Courts - Judge Dailey on the Delaware County drug forfeiture investigation

Updating this ILB entry from Aug. 7th, the Muncie Star-Press today has an unattributed story headed "Dailey says not his role to determine if crimes occurred":

MUNCIE -- Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Richard Dailey said Thursday it was not his role to determine whether crimes had been committed "in cases involving civil drug forfeitures."

A Star Press article in Thursday's edition reported that in a courtroom discussion with attorneys, Dailey indicated he seen no evidence of crimes by police officers in his investigation of the handling of civil forfeiture lawsuits pursued against alleged drug dealers by the Muncie-Delaware County Drug Task Force and the county prosecutor's office.

The judge on Thursday issued a prepared statement seeking to "more fully explain what I intended to be the meaning of my remarks."

Dailey noted he had been instructed by the Indiana Supreme Court to continue his inquiry into whether fraud on the court had occurred in local forfeiture cases.

The judge said his investigation focused entirely on possible fraud on the court, not criminal wrongdoing.

"However, this does not mean that matters under investigation do not constitute criminal acts, only that I am not seeking evidence of criminal acts, but, instead, evidence of fraud on the court," the judge wrote.

"The finding whether criminal activity has occurred is and should be left to Judge Michael Peyton of Henry County, before whom a petition for special prosecutor has been filed (by Mayor Sharon McShurley's administration), or any other court that has appropriate jurisdiction to consider such matters," Dailey added.

Dailey said he intended to issue "in the next few days" a report that will contain "my findings regarding fraud on this court."

He also said he would forward a copy of that report to both the Indiana Supreme Court and its disciplinary commission.

Judge Dailey's complete statement appears in a side-bar to the story.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 8, 2008 09:10 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts