GREENSBURG — A Decatur County judge is facing formal discipline from the Indiana Supreme Court for alleged misconduct while presiding over “child in need of services” cases.
Decatur Circuit Court Judge Timothy B. Day is accused of “a pattern of not including” guardian ad litems or court appointed special advocates from the proceedings involving children in juvenile proceedings and “fostering a culture of ex parte communications” in such cases, according to the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications. The commission announced the filing of formal disciplinary charges against Day on Friday.
Guardian ad litems and CASAs represent children in cases involving accusations of abuse or neglect involving their parents or guardians. Ex parte communications refer to those involving a judge and just one party in a case, which is considered misconduct under the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct.
According to the notice of the institution of formal proceedings and statement of charges, the misconduct alleged against Day stems from a case he oversaw involving a girl, R.P., who was born on Aug. 22, 2015 and tested positive for methamphetamines, amphetamines, marijuana, and opiates due to her mother’s drug use. Six days after the R.P.’s birth, the Department of Child Services filed a CHINS action, and within days, the child was placed in foster care.
Day is accused of failing to appoint an advocate in R.P.’s case for about 17 months, despite state law that provides that in such cases “a guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate shall represent and protect the best interests of the child,” according to the complaint against him.
The case continued for several years and included petitions for guardianships and parenting time involving R.P.’s foster parents and grandparents, among other things.
In R.P.’s case and others, Day also “fostered a culture of ex parte communication within Decatur Circuit Court and failed to take appropriate remedial measures when unauthorized ex parte communications were presented to the court” over a three-year period, the charges say.
In one instance, the commission alleges that on May 7, 2020, Day conducted about 20 hearings “at which he made records of agreements and continuances in CHINS cases. Respondent only accommodated DCS attorneys to be present at these hearings, and no other parties, including GAL/CASA, were present for these hearings.”
Day, who as a judge in Decatur County is routinely among those who may be called to serve as a judge in neighboring Bartholomew and Jennings counties, has served as Decatur Circuit Judge in 2013 and was admitted to the Indiana Bar in 1989.
The commission said Day is permitted but not required to file an answer to the charges within 20 days.
The Indiana Supreme Court has final authority to determine what, if any, judicial misconduct occurred. The court can dismiss the charges, accept or reject a disciplinary agreement between the commission and Day, appoint a panel of judges to conduct a public hearing, impose a fine, or impose sanctions ranging from a reprimand to a suspension to a permanent ban on holding judicial office in Indiana.
This isn’t the first time that Day has been investigated by the commission.
On Dec. 29, 2018, the Judicial Qualifications Commission publicly admonished Day but stopped short of filing formal disciplinary proceedings related to incidents in 2014 and 2015 involving his estranged wife.
In the first case, Day’s estranged wife called police because she was afraid that Day, carrying a shotgun, was about to confront a man she had been seeing. An Indiana State Police trooper intervened and seized a loaded shotgun from Day’s side in his pickup truck, according to the commission.
In the second case, the commission said Day and his estranged wife argued at his home over texts the judge had received from a woman he had been seeing. A confrontation between Day and his estranged wife ensued then escalated until Day grabbed a rifle by the barrel and his estranged wife grabbed the other end “and the two engaged in a tug of war over the weapon,” according to the commission, until the Days’ then-teenaged daughter grabbed the gun in the middle, her parents let go of it, and the daughter removed the gun.
The case involving the latter incident was referred to Indiana State Police for an investigation. ISP referred its findings to a special prosecutor, but no criminal charges were filed, according to the commission.
“By engaging in this conduct, the judge violated his ethical duty to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and to avoid the appearance of impropriety, as required by Rule 1.2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct,” the commission concluded in issuing its public admonition.
