The Indiana Supreme Court Friday denied Attorney General Todd Rokita's request to dismiss a disciplinary complaint against him.
The court's decision means the standard disciplinary process will move forward.
The background of the latest complaint goes back years. In 2023, the state Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Rokita for his remarks about Dr. Caitlin Bernard after she provided abortion care to a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim. As part of that, the attorney general signed an affidavit admitting to violating professional conduct rules and accepting responsibility.
But in a statement immediately following the reprimand, Rokita said he admitted to the misconduct to "save a lot of taxpayer money and distraction," while maintaining he did nothing wrong.
The state disciplinary commission then filed new discipline charges earlier this year. It argued Rokita's statement contradicted the signed affidavit and that his statements since then demonstrate his "lack of candor and dishonesty" to the Supreme Court.
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Rokita asked the court to dismiss the latest complaint. The Supreme Court declined to do so, saying it's extremely rare to dismiss a complaint at this stage.
It directed the complaint process to move forward with the appointment of a hearing officer — or, in this case, three hearing officers. The court said a three-person panel will help avoid the appearance of political pressure influencing a single hearing officer's decisions.
The court's ruling also recommends that the disciplinary commission and Rokita try to resolve the dispute through mediation before a hearing is necessary.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.
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