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Saturday, May 09, 2009
Ind. Courts - More on the suspension of La Porte Superior Court 3 Judge Jennifer Evans Koethe
Updating earlier entries, Laurie Wink of the Michigan City News-Dispatch writes today:
LA PORTE - The Indiana Supreme Court suspended with pay La Porte Superior Court 3 Judge Jennifer Evans Koethe and named former Superior Court 3 Judge Paul Baldoni as temporary judge.Friday's decision came at the request of the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications following the grand-jury indictment of Evans Koethe, 34, on a class D felony charge of obstruction of justice. The judge's suspension is effective May 11 and will continue indefinitely. The announcement was made by Kathryn Dolan, Indiana Supreme Court public-information officer.
Warrants were issued for Evans Koethe and her husband, Stephan, on Thursday. At 10 a.m. Friday, they were individually booked into La Porte County Jail, photographed, fingerprinted and given an opportunity to post bond, said Maj. Gary Broling, La Porte County Sheriff's Department public-information officer.
Broling said Evans Koethe posted $5,005 surety bond and a $605 cash bond. Stephan Koethe posted a $7,000 surety bond and $500 cash bond. The indictment of Evans Koethe charges her with asking on Dec. 23 for a handwritten note to be destroyed, a note that was evidence in an official investigation of a shooting in her home Dec. 22, 2008. The action is seen as an attempt to obstruct justice.
Stephan Koethe was indicted for two misdemeanors: class A misdemeanor false informing and class B misdemeanor criminal recklessness. The false-informing charge was for knowingly providing a false description of the Dec. 22 events to La Porte police, hindering the law-enforcement process. The criminal recklessness charge was for handling a loaded firearm while intoxicated during an argument with another intoxicated person. The indictment stated that action created the risk of bodily injury to another person.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 9, 2009 11:29 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts