INDIANAPOLIS – Allen Superior Court Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger prevailed Thursday in his fight to remain on the fall ballot after the bipartisan Indiana Election Commission voted unanimously to deny a challenge to his candidacy.
“I’m relieved. You never know what’s going to happen,” Scheibenberger said after the hearing. “This is going to fuel my vigor to go out and campaign to show who is the best candidate.”
A small group of citizens had filed a complaint claiming that Indiana law governing the selection of Allen County Superior Court judges prohibits people from running for election if they have had any sanctions imposed by the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission. The law is unique to Allen and Vanderburgh counties.
In January 2009, the Indiana Supreme Court suspended Scheibenberger for three days without pay over comments he made in November 2007 to a defendant’s family in another judge’s courtroom while in his robe.
The high court took action on the complaint filed by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications, an arm of the Indiana Supreme Court responsible for investigating complaints against judges throughout Indiana. The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission investigates and prosecutes claims of misconduct against lawyers licensed in Indiana.
Scheibenberger and his attorneys argued the specific Allen County law does not apply to him because it references only the Supreme Court disciplinary commission as opposed to the judicial qualifications commission.
“From the beginning, we’ve said that this law doesn’t address judges – just attorneys,” he said.
Jeff Arnold, a lawyer speaking on behalf of Richard Runestad, said the statute used the disciplinary commission as a general term since it wasn’t capitalized and should also be read to encompass the judicial qualifications commission.
Runestad is one of the 12 citizens who filed the complaint.
Arnold also noted that if the commission is to read the statute that closely, it technically does nothing at all. That’s because neither commission can sanction lawyers or judges – only the Indiana Supreme Court can.
“If the statute is to mean something, it has to be interpreted in a fairly liberal manner,” he said.
But Robert Thompson, attorney for Scheibenberger, said the legislature knew exactly what it was doing and specifically crafted a statute that draws a distinction between attorneys who have been disciplined and judges.
“You can’t construe it any way you want to,” he said. “That’s not a good legal argument.”
Democratic Election Commission member Anthony Long said due to a drafting error, “I think it’s possible this statute doesn’t do anything, and that wouldn’t be the first time.”
But he went further, saying he is reluctant to be characterized as an “activist” commissioner by broadening the interpretation of the statute.
Republican member Jonathan Myers said, “Unless I see a crystal clear statute, I’m disinclined to keep somebody off the ballot.”
Fellow Democrat Karen Celestino-Horseman, who was serving as a proxy for the regular member, said citizens can ask their legislators to clarify the statute in the upcoming session.
Scheibenberger said he is ready to move past this and focus on issues of the campaign, such as who is best to make Allen County safe and be a compassionate, dedicated judge.
He faces part-time Allen County Deputy Prosecutor Wendy Davis, a partner at the law firm Beckman Lawson LLP, and local attorney Lewis Griffin.
