LAPORTE — At least three local judges have so far passed on presiding over the criminal drunken driving case against State Sen. Michael Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, records show.
LaPorte Circuit Court Judge Julianne Havens declined the appointment Monday, following in the footsteps of LaPorte Superior Court Judge Richard Stalbrink Jr. and Magistrate John Link, according to court records.
The selection of a judge is back in the hands of the county clerk's office.
"If a judge has a conflict of interest or some other reason under the Judicial Canons, then they need to recuse, or remove themself from the case," LaPorte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan said when asked about the hot-potato treatment of the case.
"Then, the Clerk appoints another judge, who then either accepts or declines, and so on and so forth until a judge is found," Fagan said. "If all the local judges recuse, then the Local Rules lay out the appointment process for an out of county judge."
Fagan himself passed on handling the case, seeking out a special prosecutor, which wound up being in neighboring Porter County.
"My office sought a special prosecutor so as to be transparent to the public, and to protect Senator Bohacek’s rights," Fagan had said.
"The presumption of innocence exists for all persons accused of a crime," he said. "Therefore, I determined that a special prosecutor was necessary to balance both of these interests."
Bohacek is charged with three misdemeanor criminal counts of operating while intoxicated, including one of endangering others, records show.
The allegations stem back to Jan. 24, but Bohacek was not arrested at the time because the state constitution says senators and representatives shall be privileged from arrest during the legislative session for criminal charges other than felonies, treason or breach of the peace. They are also shielded from civil process.
Bohacek did not immediately respond early Tuesday to a request for an updated comment. But a May 16 text message response for comment from his cell phone said, "Thx for the heads up."
Michigan City police say in a charging document that 58-year-old Bohacek was stopped at 3:23 p.m. Jan. 24 in response to a report of a potentially intoxicated driver.
A witness reported seeing a man, later determined to be Bohacek, nearly fall to the ground when exiting his vehicle at a Michigan City fast food restaurant, according to police. The witness further said the driver was slurring his words and had what appeared to be an open container of alcohol in his vehicle, police said.
Police said Bohacek appeared intoxicated during the traffic stop. While Bohacek reportedly told police he had taken a prescribed medication before driving, he denied consuming alcohol.
"He stated that he was coming back from Indianapolis and was down on sleep," police said.
A blood draw was taken and it was discovered Bohacek had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.283% or nearly four times the legal limit of 0.08%, records show.