Randolph County Judge Investigated for Judicial Misconduct
Randolph County Judge Investigated for 11 Judicial Misconduct Charges
WINCHESTER, Ind.— The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial…” A Randolph County judge is being investigated and charged with 11 counts for violating that core tenet of the judicial process.
Monday, the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications filed 11 judicial misconduct charges against Randolph County Superior Court Judge Dale Arnett for holding defendants without proper judicial process and, in over 100 civil and criminal cases, not filing proper court documents.
The commission cited a 13 page list by the Randolph County Prosecutor’s Office which says that Arnett mishandled criminal cases, leading to missing case entries and orders and no future hearing dates. “Judge Arnett failed to take action in certain criminal cases leading to those cases being dismissed,” the commission wrote in the charging announcement, saying that 10 criminal cases were dismissed because Arnett did not give defendants a hearing in a timely manner.
In one case where a man was charged for having a syringe for drug use, Arnett held him in jail for 227 days without an initial hearing: the man was arrested July 1, 2024 and the state tired to request a hearing from Arnett on Sept. 17 that year, but Arnett still didn’t act until March 26, 2025, when he dismissed the case.
In many cases, officials from the Randolph County Prosecutor’s Office and individual attorneys brought their concerns of the delays to Arnett. Despite being told of these problems, court documents say Arnett still didn’t act until he was notified of the investigation against him.
The commission wrote that failing to properly document cases and not setting hearings–up to almost 4 years in one case–was only part of the issue.
Court documents gave an example of when Arnett even held one person in jail for 16 days before any probable cause or release conditions were given to them. When probable cause was found, Arnett released them the same day. In other case, conflicting orders and clinical errors from Arnett led to the arrest of one man for failing to pay bond, even though he paid it almost a month prior. That defendant was held in jail for 31 days before Arnett corrected the mistake. That man was only charged with a misdemeanor for driving under the influence.
In total, 22 known cases were given in court documents for when Arnett held people in jail longer than they should have been.
Arnett, who has been serving as a judge since he was elected in 2020, is currently not hearing cases while he is on a leave of absence. Still, the commission has filed for the Indiana Supreme Court to suspend Arnett without pay.
As of the publication of this article, Arnett has not filed a response to the charges nor has the Supreme Court set an initial hearing date.
