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St Joseph probate Judge Nemeth accused of misconductCourtesy of courts.lN.govINDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications has filed disciplinary charges against St. Joseph Probate Court Judge Peter J. Nemeth alleging that his derogatory remarks during a guardianship hearing about a potential guardian’s socioeconomic status violated the Code of Judicial Conduct by acting in a manner that did not promote public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Judge Nemeth has served as the judge of St. Joseph Probate Court since 1993, and has been a member of the Indiana bar since 1966.The Commission has filed one count of misconduct against Judge Nemeth related to his handling of a guardianship proceeding in 2011. The Commission alleges that Judge Nemeth’s statements and conduct during the adult guardianship proceedings violated certain sections of the Code of Judicial Conduct.The “Notice of the Institution of Formal Proceedings and Statement of Charges” alleges that Judge Nemeth made derogatory statements concerning the use of taxpayer dollars when the litigant requested during a March 11, 2011 and a May 6, 2011 hearing that the court provide services of a sign language interpreter for the deaf 18-year-old subject of the guardianship proceeding. Judge Nemeth denied the request and ordered the litigant to provide a deaf interpreter for the permanent guardianship hearing. Judge Nemeth revised the order after the litigant brought the relevant portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act to the court office. During her testimony at the May 6, 2011 guardianship hearing, the litigant testified that she had not filed income taxes and had not worked in 10 years. The Commission alleges that Judge Nemeth made derogatory statements about the litigant’s socioeconomic status by suggesting that it was inappropriate for her to request that “the taxpayers pay for” [an interpreter] when she “hadn’t paid taxes for several years.”NEMETH
Newspaper Details
Fort Wayne Frost Illustrated
Fort Wayne, Indiana, US
Wed, Aug 29, 2012
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Hayley J.
USA 02 Oct 2024
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