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Friday, December 19, 2008

Ind. Courts - "Marion County Judge Grant Hawkins petitions court not to remove him"

Jon Murray reports today in the Indianapolis Star on the 41-page Petition for Review filed by Judge Grant W. Hawkins with the Supreme Court Dec. 11, 2008. Murray's story begins:

A Marion County judge has filed a petition acknowledging he made mistakes in a case in which a man found guilty of rape remained in prison nearly a year after the court set aside his conviction. But Judge Grant Hawkins also insists none of those mistakes warrants his removal from the bench.

In his 41-page petition, Hawkins, whose fate is in the hands of the Indiana Supreme Court, also said a commissioner who oversaw the case was not convinced the evidence totally cleared the defendant.
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Rather than take the rare action of removing a judge, Hawkins suggested, the justices could suspend him. He was provisionally suspended last month pending the outcome of the case.

The disciplinary case against Hawkins stems from the successful appeal by Harold David Buntin, who presented new DNA evidence in Hawkins' court in 2005 that helped him win his freedom.

But Buntin had to wait in prison nearly a year -- he spent a total of 13 years behind bars -- until the discovery of the court order setting aside his conviction. That order had sat in his file for nearly a year, possibly longer.

Hawkins, elected to the bench in 2000, apologized to Buntin at his release hearing.

Two panels, including the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications, have rebuked Hawkins and pressed for his removal for giving misleading statements to investigators who looked into the matter.

For background, start with this ILB entry from Nov. 25th.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 19, 2008 10:25 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts