If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the facts are against you, argue the law.
If both the law and the facts are against you, pound the table.
– Lawyers’ adage
Gov. Mitch Daniels sure did seem to be pounding the table hard last week.
He was livid with an Indiana Court of Appeals’ decision that threw out the state’s onerous voter ID law, personally attacking the court of appeals judges who made the decision – which included Paul Mathias, former Allen Superior Court judge.
Daniels called the decision partisan, a backhand accusation that the judges based their decision not on the constitution but on political considerations.
The Indiana State Bar Association responded by politely pointing out that the governor seemed to cross the line.
“While the Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) recognizes that Gov. Daniels has championed the cause of judicial independence, the State Bar is nevertheless compelled to emphasize that comments such as those attributed to the governor are not helpful in advancing appropriate respect for the courts and the judicial process, and honoring the separation of powers doctrine,” a statement the group issued read. “Comments about individual judges are not the way to express disagreement with any court opinion.”
The governor’s disrespect for the judges will likely be long remembered.
In the meantime, even if one agrees with the concept of the tough voter ID law, it appears the legislature muffed the language and will have to adopt a new version.
Rokita’s role
Secretary of State Todd Rokita likes to point out he is Indiana’s chief elections official, and he was perhaps the most prominent and aggressive advocate of the voter ID law. But when the League of Women Voters named Rokita as the defendant in the lawsuit that led to last week’s ruling, he argued that he should not have been sued because he has no power to enforce election laws.
Just a year ago, Rokita touted his action to fine a voting machine company. Two years ago, in defending the voter ID law, he wrote, “As Indiana’s chief election officer, I take seriously my duty to intervene on behalf of Hoosiers to protect our model electoral process.”
The appeals court agreed that Rokita was a proper defendant.
Prosecutor’s problems
Allen County officials were never happy with the way Delaware County authorities handled the case of Simon Rios, who killed 10-year-old Alejandra Gutierrez and dumped her body in an abandoned gravel pit in Delaware County. At one point, Delaware County authorities tried to move Rios from the Allen County Jail, where he was awaiting trial for killing his wife and three daughters, but were rebuffed.
Mark McKinney, then a deputy prosecutor and now the Delaware County prosecutor, was in charge of the case. He apparently was premature in filing murder charges against Rios, needlessly triggering a speedy trial deadline. (Rios killed himself in prison a year ago.)
Now, as the Muncie Star Press has reported, McKinney is in the hot seat. Muncie’s controversial mayor complained that McKinney had arranged for questionable confidential settlements in forfeiture cases involving drugs while serving as attorney for a drug task force at the same time he was a prosecutor. McKinney reached agreement with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission that he would be suspended from practicing law for 90 days, but the state Supreme Court has now decided that the proposed suspension is too lenient and refused to accept it, suggesting his punishment will be more severe.
Even McKinney’s predecessor says he now regrets backing McKinney to succeed him in the 2006 election and has called on him to resign.
