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ATTORNEYS FOR HON. JUDGE L. BENJAMIN PFAFF Kevin P. McGoff Indianapolis, Indiana Stephen R. Bowers Elkhart, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL QUALIFICATIONS Meg W. Babcock David B. Hughes Indianapolis, Indiana

______________________________________________________________________________

In the

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 20S00-0501-JD-14 IN THE MATTER OF THE HONORABLE L. BENJAMIN PFAFF, JUDGE OF ELKHART SUPERIOR COURT NO. 1 _________________________________ JUDICIAL DISCIPLINARY ACTION _________________________________ December 13, 2005

Per Curiam.

In this order, we finalize a judicial disciplinary action brought by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications ("the Commission") against Respondent, the Honorable L. Benjamin Pfaff. At all times relevant to these proceedings, Respondent was the Judge of Elkhart Superior Court No. 1. Article 7, Section 4 of the Indiana Constitution and Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 25 give the Indiana Supreme Court original jurisdiction over this matter.

The Commission's Notice of the Institution of Formal Proceedings and Statement of Charges ("Charges") averred that Respondent, while in office as an elected judge and member of the Indiana Bar, violated Canons 1 and 2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct and engaged in

conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice by: (1) entering a private residence without invitation while searching for his daughter and forcibly grabbing, restraining, and threatening a male at gunpoint while stating something to the effect of, "This M...F... better talk or he's going to die"; and (2) providing false information to a Special Prosecutor's investigator and to the Commission as each investigated the incident. Canon 1 states judges "should participate in establishing, maintaining and enforcing high standards of conduct, and shall personally observe those standards in order to preserve the integrity and independence of the judiciary." Ind. Judicial Conduct Canon 1(A). Canon 2 states judges "shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary." Jud. Canon 2(A).

The present matter was tried before three Indiana trial court judges appointed to serve as Masters in this proceeding. 1 See Ind. Admission & Discipline Rule 25(VIII)(I)-(K). Following the trial, the Masters filed their "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Recommendations to the Indiana Supreme Court" (hereinafter "Masters' Report") with this Court, as provided by Admission and Discipline Rule 25(VIII)(N)(1).

Findings of the Masters

In sum, the Masters found that the following occurred.

On the evening of Sunday, December 7, 2005, Respondent's fifteen year old daughter left the home where she lived with Respondent's ex-wife. Respondent and his ex-wife searched for her for over twenty-four hours. The search included an incident where Respondent burst into one home where Respondent had been told the daughter could be found, shouting accusations of wrongdoing at the occupants. Later that evening Respondent was told that the daughter could be found at a house occupied by Ashley Snodgrass, a recent high school graduate, her fianc

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