There’s been a delay in Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s immigration-related lawsuit against St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman. The judge has removed himself from the case.
St. Joseph County Circuit Judge John Broden made history last month when he let reporters record a hearing, in a case he’d been presiding over since Rokita filed it in January. Rokita, a Republican, argues that Redman, a Democrat, has had a policy prohibiting officers from telling federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement when undocumented immigrants are in the jail. The hearing was on Redman’s motion to dismiss the case.
After hearing arguments from both sides’ attorneys at the June 18 hearing, Broden pledged to rule within 60 days, or by August 18. But on Thursday Broden, a Democrat, removed himself from the case, writing that he “recently discerned a potential conflict of interest that could present an appearance of impropriety.” Broden does not elaborate in the order and he did not reply to WVPE’s interview request.
In his order Broden apologizes for the delays this will cause. He states that if the parties can’t agree on a new judge by Thursday, he’ll ask County Clerk Amy Rolfes to randomly pick one.
