WRTV's Kara Kenney has an interesting story this evening on government employees and resources being utilized to direct couples intending to marry after completing a marriage license application at the Marion Co. Clerk's Office to a private office maintained by Center Township Small Claims Court Judge Michelle Scott where she and her husband officiate weddings for a fee. Judge Scott can officiate those same wedding ceremonies in her official office in the City-County Building during normal office hours for an $80 fee; however, those revenues are deposited into the township's general fund. By directing persons to her private office, she and her husband can retain the wedding fee. Together, they've performed more than 1,300 wedding ceremonies since 2013, more than any other person in Marion Co. authorized under state law to officiate weddings.
Call 6 sent a person to the City-County Building to Judge Scott's office and the Information Center wearing a hidden camera. In both instances, the hidden camera captured government employees either handing business cards with the address and contact information for Judge Scott's private office or directing people to her private office on East Market Street. Kenney's efforts to speak to Judge Scott were unsuccessful, and when she visited her private office where her husband, Rich, was located, he ordered her to leave his office. Marion Circuit Court Judge Louis Rosenberg he was concerned about the arrangement and was looking into it. "If public facilities and public status are being used to make money privately, I'd be concerned about that," Rosenberg said. Judge Scott's tenure ends at the end of the year. She lost her bid for re-election in the Democratic primary election in May to Brenda Roper.
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If you’ve ever spent much time in Judge Scott’s subterranean Small Claims Court office you’ll understand how exceptionally crowded that small suite is. The tiny front office holds half a dozen busy clerks, and the sheriff constables are in and out, plus add in hundreds of litigants coming and going every day. Judge Scott’s adjoining office is very tiny, just big enough for a desk, her chair and two guest chairs squeezed in. There’s simply no room for a wedding, and the Courtroom is fluorescent lit and stuffed with file cabinets and lawyers scribbling notes, the constables with their guns, the shackled criminals walking down the halls. Not a place you’d want to get married.
I respect Judge Scott. I’ve watched her handle that courtroom over the years with sound judgment and more compassion than a lot of the hacks calling themselves judges upstairs. I trust she provides a more private and special moment for marrying couples in her private office. And I’m confident she is trying to separate her official courtroom duties from her extracurricular community outreach . Judge Scott works tirelessly to help everyone who appears before her. I have no doubt that long after everyone else has gone home for the night she is in her private office down the street preparing for morning court, and perhaps marrying some young couple.
There are a lot of bad apples in Indianapolis, but Judge Scott is one of the good ones, and she’ll be missed when she steps down off the bench. Pity they won’t let her marry the hundreds of same sex couples waiting to get married, and nobody with authority to perform the weddings. Sometimes, just sometimes, you find a public servant that actually wants to help the public, and who lives their life in the service of others. Judge Scott is that kind of public servant, a special woman. Truly. If you want to find ethically challenged city employees, go to any other floor of the city county building. Start at the top on the 25th floor, and work your way down thru the corruption. But the basement small claims courtroom of Judge Scott, that’s an honest courtroom.
The Center Township Trustee had much better and larger space lined up for her on the ground floor of the Julia Carson Government Center where the failed restaurant/bar used to be that offered free parking. Judge Scott took the Trustee to court and successfully blocked him from relocating her court to the township-owned building. If she had gone along with that plan, she would probably be hanging around for a another term. Scott's predecessor used to perform wedding ceremonies in her office during breaks in court sessions. It can be done; it's just that the judge doesn't get to keep the fees if they do it in her court.
This is unscrupulous and depraved! (It is also typical of a Democrat).
I hope that a complaint is filed with the Commission on Judicial Qualifications and that she receives an appropriate sanction for this action.
Essentially she is using her court as advertising for her part-time moonlighting job performing marriages. It may just meet the definition of criminal Official Misconduct.
Perhaps a grand jury should be empaneled.
She is clearly using her position as a government official for profiteering.
http://judgemichelle.jimdo.com
local landlord: The Center Twp Small Claims Court is a disgrace to the judiciary....profiteering from performing marriages. -Then examine Tony Duncan and his "Deputy Constables"....I believe you'll find more profiteering and or corruption.
The best thing that could happen is elimination statewide of all Township government.
She can do all the weddings that she wants, she just can't legally charge any fees for herself for doing so.
The fact that a TV station could sneak a hidden camera into a government building, even if it is very small, is scary and is a major
security flaw.
Anon 5:12 AM: Yes, it's unscrupulous, depraved & sadly typical of new republicans as democrat light.
1300 transactions in a year @ $80 sounds like $104,000 in extra income.
Professionally subsidized sports franchises would love a deal like that. Oh wait- they've already got one!
Anon 7:44 am said "The fact that a TV station could sneak a hidden camera into a government building, even if it is very small, is scary and is a major security flaw."
Why? The guards are looking for weapons or materials that can be used as weapons. They're not looking for recording devices which are perfectly legal. With the exception of the courts, it is not only legal to record government proceeds, openly or surreptitiously, state statutes forbid interference with the recording. So security can't take people's cameras away from them.
Actually Marion County judges are part-time employees and can moonlight performing weddings and making money doing it, and keeping that money. The issue is using government resources to promote that business. When you're talking about a clerk handing out her card to a person who makes an inquiry (as opposed to the clerk unsolicited promoting the judge's business), that's a gray area. I think it's a very bad idea to do that, but criminal or a violation of the judicial code? Unlikely.
I seem to remember an article a few months ago that Democrat Beth White managed to find time to decorate an office in the CCB as a chapel, and perform over 100 weddings in a couple of days.
I guess she doesn't have many official duties to perform, either.
Think she paid TAXES on that scratch???
For giggles, a bunch of us went to 300 East to sit in the bar. CLEARLY we were not welcome, but the funnier part was everyone who was coming in was not staying in the bar but taking an elevator ride (up or down) to some other floor for???
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