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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Ind. Gov't. - "White is a no-show in court"

Updating yesterday's ILB entry on the Charlie White hearing, two stories today. From Carrie Ritchie's long report in the Indianapolis Star:

Whether a Marion County judge will allow Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White to remain in office is unclear.

So is the reason for White's absence at a hearing Wednesday to determine his fate.

Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg heard oral arguments Wednesday morning about the Indiana Democratic Party's claim that White was illegally registered to vote at the time he declared his candidacy and is therefore ineligible to serve. * * *

Rosenberg, who conducted the hearing without White, said he would issue a ruling in the next 30 days. But either side could appeal Rosenberg's decision, so the case likely is far from over.

If the judge sides with the Democrats, White could be removed from office and Democrat Vop Osili, who lost to White in the November 2010 election, could take over. Osili was elected Nov. 8 to the Indianapolis City-County Council.

White also could lose his job if he's convicted of any of the seven felony charges he's facing in Hamilton County. Those charges include counts of voter fraud and theft. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 30.

In a phone interview after Wednesday's hearing, White didn't offer an explanation for his absence but said he's confident the judge will be thorough in his review.

Charles Wilson of the AP also has a long story. Some quotes:
A court employee said Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg told her that White had not been ordered to attend, but declined to say whether he was surprised when White didn’t show up.

When White still hadn’t arrived 20 minutes after the 9 a.m. hearing was set to begin, Rosenberg asked if anyone else knew where White was. Deputy Attorney General Betsy Isenberg, representing the state Recount Commission, said White had phoned her about two weeks ago to ask whether he was required to attend and she had advised him to contact the court.

White had been expected to represent himself after his attorney, Republican powerhouse lawyer Jim Bopp, resigned in August.

Democratic attorneys were heavily critical of White for not attending when he was acting as his own lawyer.

“As an attorney, I would not have the courage or the chutzpah not to show up for a hearing if I was representing a client,” Bill Groth said.

“I found it very interesting that Charlie White wasn’t here,” said Groth’s co-counsel, Karen Celestino-Horseman. “It kind of puts me in mind of my nephews when they were little standing behind mom’s leg, I can throw the rock out and know I’m safe rather than coming in here and confronting it all where he would have had to address it without having legal counsel by his side.”

A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office said White never intended to attend Wednesday’s hearing.

“There was no reason for him to be there. He wasn’t subpoenaed or anything,” said A.J. Feeney-Ruiz. He noted that White had filed a brief in his own defense, and said the “sole purpose” of Wednesday’s hearing was to defend the recount commission’s decision.

But White told WISH-TV that he had planned on attending the hearing but mistakenly thought it was scheduled for 1 p.m. White didn’t return phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 24, 2011 11:14 AM
Posted to Indiana Government