« Ind. Courts - Title IV-D Court moving to Vigo Community Corrections building" | Main | Environment - "Coal ash risks loom in Indiana" »
Friday, January 09, 2009
Ind. Courts - Vanderburgh County judge delays Hatch Act ruling
Following on a lengthy list of earlier ILB entries on the application of the Indiana Hatch Act, Thomas B. Langhorne reports today in the Evansville Courier & Press:
The next move in a Vanderburgh County Republican Party lawsuit seeking to oust a newly elected Democratic officeholder is to wait.Pending the outcome of a guiding case in Terre Haute, Ind., a local judge Thursday delayed indefinitely his ruling on whether County Commissioner Steve Melcher was ineligible to seek office last year under the Little Hatch Act. * * *
The Indiana Court of Appeals decided that Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett was prohibited from seeking office in 2007 under the Little Hatch Act, when he beat former Mayor Kevin Burke. Bennett was director of operations from 2005 until 2007 at the Hamilton Center, which operated a federally funded Head Start program.
Bennett was more involved with federal money at the Hamilton Center than Melcher is at CAPE, [Melcher's attorney, Rob Faulkner] said.
The attorney pointed to a section of the Indiana Court of Appeals' ruling against Bennett saying Bennett "approved specific projects, work orders and contracts for the Head Start program."
"Mr. Melcher does none of that," Faulkner said.
After the testimony and closing statements, Judge Carl Heldt said the Burke-Bennett case awaits a decision from the Indiana Supreme Court on whether it will hear appeals of the lower court's ruling.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 9, 2009 09:17 AM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions