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3 Indiana Judges Suspended Over April Drunken Fight that Led to 2 Being Shot at White Castle

All three respondents joined in a profane verbal altercation that quickly turned into physical violence and ended in gunfire, and in doing so, gravely undermined public trust in the dignity and decency of Indiana’s judiciary,” the justices ruled.

November 15, 2019
3 Indiana Judges Suspended Over April Drunken Fight that Led to 2 Being Shot at White Castle

 

2 min to read


Three Indiana circuit judges who were involved in a drunken fight outside an Indianapolis White Castle restaurant in April -- which ended with two of the judges being shot -- have been suspended by the Indiana Supreme Court.

Two Clark County Circuit Court judges, Andrew Adams and Bradley Jacobs, and Crawford County Circuit Judge Sabrina Bell were disciplined in the ruling handed down Tuesday. Adams was suspended without pay for 60 days, while Jacobs and Bell were each suspended without pay for 30 days, Cox Media reports

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The judges engaged in judicial misconduct that was “not merely embarrassing on a personal level; they discredited the entire Indiana judiciary,” the unanimous ruling states.

All three respondents joined in a profane verbal altercation that quickly turned into physical violence and ended in gunfire, and in doing so, gravely undermined public trust in the dignity and decency of Indiana’s judiciary,” the justices ruled.

The near-deadly incident took place on the night of April 30 after all three judges traveled to Indianapolis to attend the Spring Judicial College the next day.

After checking into their hotel rooms, Adams, Jacobs and Bell spent the evening socializing and drinking with others attending the conference.

Around 3 a.m. the four judges walked to a nearby White Castle.

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Where the ruling says they fought with two men. At one point during the altercation, one of the men drew a pistol and opened fire, the ruling says.

Judge Adams was shot once in the abdomen and Judge Jacobs twice in the chest, the ruling states.

 

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