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INDIANAPOLIS – Allen Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Felts might have intentionally tried to subvert a breath test he was given early Friday when he was arrested on alcohol-related charges in Indianapolis.
That’s according to details in a probable cause affidavit filed in the case and arguments during Felts’ initial hearing Wednesday in Marion Superior Court.
Felts, 53, is charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and public intoxication, both misdemeanors.
“We’re not dealing with a layperson,” Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Gilley said. “He knows what causes a machine to malfunction.”
After being picked up by Indiana State Capitol Police about 2:30 a.m. Friday, a portable breath test found a 0.14 percent blood-alcohol content “on a weak breath sample.”
A reading of 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content is considered legally intoxicated.
Portable tests are not admissible in court, so police took Felts into custody after he agreed to submit to a certified chemical test. Once at the local department, though, Felts provided two invalid tests, which police deemed a refusal.
In Indiana, refusing a breath test carries an automatic one-year driver’s license suspension.
But James Voyles, defense attorney for Felts, argued his client’s license should not be suspended because he did not refuse to take the tests and the officers did not strictly follow the law regulating refusals. And he noted there is no evidence of why the tests were invalid.
Gilley said Felts refused to maintain a constant flow of air when blowing into the machine and tried to make himself burp, which could interfere with the test results. He also requested another hearing on the refusal in which the officers could testify about the events of the test.
But Marion Superior Court Judge William J. Nelson ruled there was not probable cause to issue a suspension on the basis of refusal.
Police and prosecutors are still waiting for the results of a blood draw that will show Felts’ official blood-alcohol level, which could result in a license suspension at a later date.
Felts did not attend Wednesday’s initial hearing, at which a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf and a pretrial hearing was set for Aug. 21.
The probable cause affidavit gives further details on the traffic stop, which occurred near Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The officer pulled Felts’ black Lincoln over after it traveled at high speed and failed to use a turn signal.
After being pulled over, Felts’ vehicle accidentally backed into the cruiser. The officer reported that Felts smelled of alcohol, had glassy, bloodshot eyes, slurred his speech and had poor dexterity while trying to retrieve his license from his wallet.
When asked whether he had been drinking, Felts responded, “Oh yeah.” After using the door frame to pull himself out of the car, Felts failed one field sobriety test, and the officer didn’t conduct others because Felts’ “balance was so unsteady that I feared his safety may be at risk.”
Since his arrest, Felts has returned to the bench. The majority of his caseload is felony criminal cases related to alcohol, though this week he has been handling domestic-relations cases as part of a regularly scheduled swap.
In addition to the criminal consequences – up to a year in jail – the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications could still weigh in on the matter.
If the commission decides to do so, it can file formal charges with the Clerk of the Supreme Court, as it did last week against Allen Superior Court Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger. He is accused of cursing at the family of a defendant in another courtroom. Scheibenberger believed the defendant sold his late son drugs.
Or the commission and the judge can avoid formal misconduct charges by agreeing to a public admonishment.
Felts, a Republican, is president of the Indiana Judges Association.
nkelly@jg.net
