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The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications took formal disciplinary proceedings Tuesday against Allen Superior Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger.
Alleging the judge violated rules of judicial ethics and committed willful misconduct while in office, the four-count statement of charges outlines a verbal exchange between Scheibenberger and the family of a criminal defendant.
On Nov. 30, Scheibenberger, while still wearing his robe, went into the courtroom of Allen Superior Judge Fran Gull and sat down in the gallery to witness the sentencing of a man accused of a weapons violation, according to court documents.
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 (expletive deleted)’ in reference to a comment he heard during the sentencing,” according to court documents.
Then he turned to the man’s parents, seated in the front row, asking them if they were “related to that piece of (expletive deleted)? ‘Upstanding citizen, my (expletive deleted)! He’ll get his!’ or words to that effect,” according to court documents.
Scheibenberger has 20 days to file a response to the charges. He declined to comment when contacted Tuesday morning.
The Indiana Supreme Court will appoint three judges, known as masters, to conduct a hearing on the charge of judicial misconduct. The masters will then file a report with the Indiana Supreme Court and they will determine any possible sanction if misconduct was determined to have occurred, officials said.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s print editions of The Journal Gazette or visit journalgazette.net after 7 a.m. Wednesday.
rgreen@jg.net
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/BLOGS01/233058334
