The Perfect Political Storm ...The End of Jeffersonville City Court...an I Team Report

Judge Ken Pierce

   There is a lot of unanswered questions floating around town as to why Jeffersonville City Court was abolished recently by the Jeff City Council. The BatBlog  (Investigation)  I Team has put together a report that has uncovered what was the "Perfect Political" storm that led to the abolishing of a well respected court that has served this community efficiently and honorably for over 50 years. This is the real truth not the lies you will get from the liars on the City council and their various mouthpieces around town like NHBSM (Not Honest Mike).

   Judge Ken Pierce appears to have been caught up in a political vendetta that included  members and officials of both the Dem. and Rep. parties working together to make sure Judge Pierce's court was kicked to the curb. Involved in this include the City clerk's office, prosecutor's office, city council and the Indiana state police with varying degrees of culpability.

  The beginning of the end to Judge Pierce's court seems to begin with the public feud between Judge Pierce and City clerk Vicki Conlin over record keeping issues involved with the court. The dispute, ugly at times, pitted Conlin a long time fixture in Dem. politics against a relative newcomer in judge Ken Pierce. Conlin's long term friendships and the relationships with several officials of both parties certainly was a key factor in the ultimate demise of Pierce and the court.

Her feud started the ball rolling

  Equally pretentious and compelling but not completely understood is the apparent feud between Pierce and his relationship with the Indiana state police. Whether it was an unfavorable ruling or a political grudge from ISP members and leadership or both. The ISP did everything in their power to avoid judge Pierce's court when  possible and targeted him on numerous times with traffic stops almost to the point of stalking him

 It remains unclear whether newly elected sheriff and former ISP officer orchestrated the ISP involvement as a favor to his sister Lisa Gill (city council person). Who along with another GOP councilperson Connie Sellers are friends with Conlin. It does seem strange that Noel's lapdog Matt Owen is the the councilman who first introduced the ordinance to do away with Pierce's City court that was ultimately passed unanimously by the council.

  What is equally strange and unanswered is why Democratic council president  Dennis Julius and fellow Dem. Nathan Samuel didn't have the backbone to stand up for fellow Dem. judge Pierce even after a large majority of the legal profession (attorneys and judges) stood up in defense of Judge Pierce and retaining the City court. Who else  is better to decide and judge the merits of keeping City Court than those who avail themselves of it on a daily basis...the legal community...

Jamey Noel's lapdog

The one thing the BatBlog has determined is that the people of Jeffersonville have been lied to by the City Council that crowed it was a fiscal decision. Courts are not about making money, no courts are financially independent of tax dollars. The reduced caseload of City court could have and should have been remedied by all the parties involved getting together and working together to bring the caseload up to previous levels.

 The prosecutor's office, the city council, the ISP and Conlin and judge Pierce should have worked out a solution agreeable to all parties. Instead the cowardly game of politics once again reared it's ugly head and trumped common sense , and we the taxpayers were lied to and fleeced into paying ultimately higher costs that will result from this action. Another sad day and action by our supposed leaders...as political vendettas are apparently more important than providing  leadership that sadly we don't have much of here locally....