An Elkhart County attorney had his law license suspended recently after he drove drunk while on a lunch break from work.
Benjamin Mattingly was a deputy with the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s office in June of 2023 when he was seen drinking heavily in the prosecutor’s office employee parking lot on his lunch break.
In a disciplinary order, the supreme court said Mattingly was “drifting in and out of consciousness” while drinking in his car so other employees called police. He also drove around for a little bit in between bouts of drinking.
The court found Mattingly refused to a blood draw and was eventually charged and convicted of a felony for driving while intoxicated.
In his criminal case, Mattingly received a year of probation and his driver's license was also suspended. His discipline from the Supreme Court is separate and resulted in a six month suspension of his law license. However the court has essentially held off on that punishment as long as Mattingly doesn’t drink alcohol or get into any other legal trouble for two years.
Mattingly appears to have a law practice in Elkhart and a message left there was not returned. Indiana employment records show Mattingly was hired by the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s office sometime in 2023.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office wrote "Mr. Mattingly was prosecuted and convicted after we summoned law enforcement to investigate our observations. No further comment would be appropriate." She did not respond to a question asking when Mattingly left the prosecutor's office.
Mattingly pleaded guilty in a prior conviction of drinking and driving from Montgomery County in 2020.
