If prosecutors refuse to file charges, a new attorney could replace them under Senate bill

A bill moving through the Indiana Senate would allow the appointment of a special attorney if county prosecutors refuse to file charges for crimes.

The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee passed SB 284 on Tuesday. The bill would establish a three-person prosecutor review board to investigate if a prosecutor is noncompliant. No more than two of the members can have the same political affiliation.

In order to be considered noncompliant, the prosecutor would have to make a public statement that they will not prosecute certain crimes and show a pattern of not bringing charges in these cases.

If the board determines that the prosecutor is noncompliant, they will not face any discipline. Instead, a special prosecutor will be appointed to oversee that category of crimes.

Similar bills have been introduced in past legislative sessions, but have ultimately failed. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears was specifically mentioned in those past discussions. In 2019, Mears announced he would no longer file charges for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. He cited that these cases disproportionately impacted people of color and are not considered a cause of violent crime.

The attorney general or legislative council decided if a prosecutor was noncompliant in past iterations of the bill. This is the first time the bill would give other prosecutors that power.

Courtney Curtis from the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council said at a committee hearing Tuesday this is the fourth time a bill like this has been introduced. However, this is the first time IPAC is supporting it.

“What has bothered us historically on this concept is any impeding of our discretion,” Curtis said. “Not because we are power-hungry or because we enjoy wielding the big stick, but because prosecutor discretion is fundamental to fairness, it's fundamental to the rule of law.”

SB 284 will advance to a second reading in the Senate.

Contact WFYI criminal justice reporter Katrina Pross at kpross@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @katrina_pross.

Pross is a Corps Member of Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.