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ATTORNEY FOR HON. JEFFREY A. HARKIN David W. Weigle Hammond, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL QUALIFICATIONS Adrienne L. Meiring Indianapolis, Indiana

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Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 45S00-1106-JD-390 IN THE MATTER OF THE HONORABLE JEFFREY A. HARKIN, JUDGE OF THE HAMMOND CITY COURT _________________________________ JUDICIAL DISCIPLINARY ACTION _________________________________ December 20, 2011 Per Curiam.

In the

FILED
Dec 20 2011, 1:27 pm
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

This matter comes before the Court as a result of a judicial disciplinary action brought by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications ("Commission") against the Respondent, Jeffrey A. Harkin, Judge of the Hammond City Court. 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. Subsequent to the Commission's filing of formal charges, the parties jointly tendered a "Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline," which the Court accepted by order on November 17, 2011. The parties have stipulated to the following facts.

Unauthorized Traffic Infraction Deferral Program The jurisdiction of the Hammond City Court includes traffic infraction cases. From 2005 until March 8, 2011, traffic infraction litigants in the Hammond City Court who otherwise had good driving records were given the following options to resolve their cases: (a) enter into a deferral agreement with the prosecutor; (b) admit liability and pay the face value of the ticket; (c) attend the Hammond City Court Traffic School ("Traffic School"); or (d) contest the ticket and proceed to trial. Traffic infraction litigants in the Hammond City Court learned of their options from court staff who, prior to each court session, would screen the litigants for eligibility in the Traffic School program and/or the prosecutor's deferral agreement program and then inform eligible litigants of their options. Participants in the prosecutorial deferral agreement program were statutorily required to enter into a written agreement with the prosecutor and pay various fees. See Indiana Code

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