(INDIANAPOLIS) – Indiana’s attorney general could intervene in criminal cases if the local prosecutor won’t, under a bill headed for the Indiana House.
It’s the second straight year the Senate has voted to allow a special prosecutor if a county has a blanket policy of not pursuing certain charges. The bill’s a response to Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who announced days after taking office that he wouldn’t pursue marijuana possession cases unless additional crimes are involved.
In October, Mears added a second hands-off policy, joining nearly 70 prosecutors nationwide pledging not to enforce abortion bans if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Indianapolis Senator Mike Young (R) says prosecutors would still have the same discretion they have now to decline to press charges in a particular case. He says that’s not only appropriate, but legally protected by court precedent. But he argues prosecutors shouldn’t be allowed to simply refuse to enforce a law they don’t like.
Young’s bill would give the attorney general the option of asking a judge to approve a special prosecutor in those instances.
Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) argues prosecutors have to have broad ability to focus their resources to avoid jail overcrowding, and says some charges affect minorities disproportionately. And he says those who maintain all laws must be enforced didn’t have a problem with the numerous sheriffs who announced they wouldn’t enforce Governor Holcomb’s statewide mask mandate in 2020, despite the law making it a misdemeanor to ignore an emergency order.
37 senators voted for the bill, eight more than a similar bill received last year. That bill never got a hearing in the House. A House committee has until February 22 to look at this year’s version.
