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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Ind. Courts - "Outburst response filed by Judge Scheibenberger"
Rebecca S. Green reports today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:
An Allen Superior Court judge doesn't deny the allegations of impropriety for the outburst he made in another judge's courtroom but said the commission reviewing his conduct does not have all the facts necessary to come to a conclusion.In a brief response to the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications filed late last week, Allen Superior Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger said he does not dispute any of the material facts alleged by the commission when it filed formal charges with the Indiana Supreme Court in July.
According to the judicial qualifications commission, Scheibenberger violated rules of judicial conduct in a verbal exchange with the family of a criminal defendant last November in another judge's courtroom. In July, the commission took the rare step of filing formal charges with the Indiana Supreme Court.
On Nov. 30, Scheibenberger, while wearing his robe, went into the courtroom of Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull and sat down in the gallery to witness the sentencing of a man accused of a weapons violation.
As the hearing concluded, Scheibenberger approached an Allen County deputy prosecutor and "created a disturbance," telling the deputy prosecutor the defendant was a "drug dealer and declared, 'upstanding citizen, my ass' in reference to a comment he heard during the sentencing," according to court documents.
Then Scheibenberger turned to the man's parents, seated in the front row, asking them whether they were "related to that piece of (expletive)? Upstanding citizen, my ass! He'll get his!' or words to that effect," according to court documents.
The man had not appeared before Scheibenberger, according to court documents. The judge has said he believed the man sold his late son drugs.
In the response documents filed last week, Scheibenberger's attorney, James Fenton, also said the judge disagreed with some of the conclusions the commission wanted to draw from those facts.
"Judge Scheibenberger deeply regrets that he failed to prevent his emotions from affecting his conduct and recognizes that his actions were inappropriate," Fenton wrote in his response.
Since the charges were filed, Scheibenberger has declined to speak about the matter. He did say he believed the man to whom he was referring had sold drugs to Scheibenberger's son, Sam, who died last August.
The next step will be the appointment of three judges, known as masters, by the Indiana Supreme Court. The panel of judges will conduct a hearing on the charge of judicial misconduct and file a report with the high court on whether the commission proved its case. The court will then determine whether any sanctions, including reprimand, suspension or removal, are warranted.
This is not the first time Scheibenberger, appointed to the bench in 1991 then elected in 1992, has found himself in hot water. In December 2002, the judge drew a public admonition from the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications for conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice for involving himself in a case against his son.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 12, 2008 06:11 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts