Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Attorney General Todd Rokita is facing disciplinary action for a second time, after the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission filed another complaint against him Friday morning.
In its complaint, the commission alleged Rokita violated the Indiana Professional Rules of Conduct by making false statements to the Indiana Supreme Court in a previous conditional agreement and an accompanying affidavit from when he was disciplined by the high court in 2023.
In a written statement sent to Indiana Lawyer, Rokita said the complaint was an attempt to silence him.
“These never ending investigations have created unnecessary distractions and expenses, and despite my offer to take responsibility well over a year ago, this matter continues to be revisited by politically passionate people who have weaponized the process, going well beyond what is fair and appropriate,” he said.
He denied allegations that his statements violated the agreement.
“The agreement required me to acknowledge the disciplinary process and accept the reprimand, which I did — it did not require me to forfeit my right to speak truthfully about what happened regarding a major political and policy matter,” he said. “I upheld my obligations while also defending myself against mischaracterizations that were circulating for weeks while being prohibited from speaking. Once able, I spoke truthfully.”
Rokita has the opportunity to respond to the complaint filed against his law license. His case is one of 11 pending before the Indiana Supreme Court.
Executive Director Adrienne Meiring requested that Rokita be disciplined for the alleged misconduct and be ordered to pay expenses for the case that the commission incurred in the investigation.
Rokita’s journey with the disciplinary commission started after he made politically-charged comments about an Indiana physician to Fox News in July 2022.
At that time, Rokita called OB-GYN Caitlin Bernard an “activist acting as a doctor” and said his office would be investigating her.
Bernard performed a medical abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim, who was forced to come to Indiana for the treatment because her home state of Ohio prohibited it at that time.
Rokita was publicly reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court for the comments, which the court said had “no substantial purpose other than to embarrass or burden” Bernard.
The court later unsealed the conditional agreement with Rokita that contained the reprimand.
That decision came after the state disciplinary commission complained that Rokita’s unrepentant statements following the reprimand merely two hours later were inconsistent with what he committed to in the agreement.
Rokita has said that a separate investigation by the Indiana State Medical Licensing Board agreed with him, by reprimanding Bernard for a patient privacy violation.
However, it rejected other issues raised by Rokita, with the board president calling Bernard a “good doctor.”
Additionally, the commission claimed Rokita engaged in dishonest behavior and misrepresented to the Supreme Court in the conditional agreement and the accompanying affidavit.
Lastly, the complaint states that Rokita violated Indiana Professional Rules of Conduct by issuing a press release on Nov. 2, 2023, which the commission claims made statements that contradicted the statements he swore to in the conditional agreement and accompanying affidavit.
The press release included Rokita’s statement following the resolution of the disciplinary case.
“First things first: I deny and was not found to have violated anyone’s confidentiality or any laws. I was not fined,” Rokita said in the press release.
The commission claims the statement goes against what he agreed on with the court in which he stated he voluntarily agreed to discipline and “knew if the proceeding were prosecuted, he could not successfully defend himself.”
Lake County Prosecutor and commission member Bernard Carter did not participate in the complaint.
Carter, a member of the disciplinary commission and its former chair, endorsed Rokita’s Democratic challenger Destiny Wells while complaints regarding Rokita were potentially pending before the commission.
The case is In the Matter of Theodore E. Rokita, 25S-DI-29.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Oh the political ping-pong…..
One side is calling politics. The other side is calling by what it is, violation of professional ethics. So, yeah, there is a bit of ping-ponging, but only if you choose to believe Rokita is it political.
He can lie to the voters and lie to himself, but if he gets caught lying to the Supreme Court, all bets are off.
Todd of course gonna Todd. But I found this useful for context on this case:
“When someone files a grievance against a lawyer with the Disciplinary Commission of the Indiana Supreme Court, the lawyer is contacted and is required to respond in writing to the complaint.
After that initial investigation, the commission’s executive director weighs if there is probable lawyer misconduct. If not, the grievance is dismissed and the case is never public. If the director believes there is, then the full disciplinary commission reviews the matter.
The full commission is a citizen board made up of seven lawyers and two non-lawyers. They are appointed by the Indiana Supreme Court.
If the commission believes that the lawyer has engaged in misconduct for which they should be disciplined, it files a complaint with the Clerk of the Supreme Court formally charging the lawyer with misconduct.
That is the point where a case becomes public. Preceding deliberations are not public record.”
So this has already been in front of a group of lawyers who’ve agreed that Rokita has engaged in misconduct. No wonder Rokita wants to change the process.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/01/31/indiana-attorney-general-todd-rokita-faces-three-new-disciplinary-charges/
How many times will this hack do something against professional ethics before he’s forced to resign. He’s the #*^# Attorney General, not the Dog Catcher!
That comparison is an insult to Dog Catchers. I’ll take the Dog Catcher.
I didn’t know attorneys had professional ethics
Another slap on the wrist coming right up.
Like his idol, Trusk the Predator, Rokita has no respect for the law unless he can bend them to suit his personal and political aspirations. The big difference? The Indiana Supreme Court is likely to be far less tolerant of Rokita than are Trusk’s three (or six) lap poodles on the US Supreme Court.
Maybe, just maybe, this will be the final curtain call on the farcical drama known as The Rokita Revue…won’t make it to Broadway, and the preview shows were run out of Washington…
Recall that last time, all five justices agreed that Rokita was guilty and two of the five wanted a stricter punishment.
Just need one justice who is tired of his act …
Enough is enough. Rokita is making a mockery of the disciplinary proceedings. It is time he be prosecuted, allowed to defend himself, and let the chips fall where they may.
Rokita is simply a symptom of a far larger problem in our state and nation. For years we have worshipped a demagogue and his state sycophants that appeal to our most base fears and prejudices.
We believed – not because of truths, facts, morals or ethics – but simply because we wanted to believe.
Amen to all of the above. Rokita is an embarrassment to the state of Indiana. We had a viable option last November and the voters chose Rokita. What a travesty.
Sigh. There’s no real hope of electing a Democrat in the present political environment. About the best we can hope for is a non-crazy Republican who takes his responsibility to the state seriously…but that Republican won’t get past the party convention. (After all, those same folks nominated our Lt. Gov. and Secretary of State, neither of whom is any more suitable for his office than the last two AGs.)
Chris, the John Birch Society nuts from the 1960’s ended up winning control of the party. There aren’t going to be any non-crazy Republicans acceptable to the party faithful.
That was kind of my point, Joe. However, somehow, Todd Young made it through a primary and into office; he is looking more and more like a modern-day Richard Lugar. (Except he is smart enough to keep a real home in Bargersville.)
Young was the first candidate through after the Mourdock debacle… and the last candidate before the 2016 election. It’s been “entertaining” watch him fall in line to save his seat; how he voted for Hegseth without biting his tongue off is beyond me.
Rokita made two different completely opposing statements. One to the Supreme Court and the other to the electorate. HE LIED. He lied about what many might easily dismiss as a misstep, when he could have just said nothing more about the matter. In other words he lied about a little thing. That reflects on his candor, and his character. We don’t allow defendants to lie to any other tribunal. If you lie in Court you should expect to lose your case. That’s because if you lie about one thing, then what else have you already lied about? What else will you lie about? Rokita holds one of the highest elected positions in the state, and we allow him to use it as a pulpit for lies. The one person in the state that we elected above all others to always hold truth and facts as his true North – is a liar. I would argue Rokita doesn’t demonstrate the requisite candor or character to hold a law license, let alone the position of Attorney General. C’mon Indiana, do better.
Rokita is the text-book example of a “pig-headed politician.”
And yet, the Indiana electorate just returned the Supreme Court Justices who let him get away with his lies to the bench. How likely are they to do anything now?
They own this. They own Rokita as a lawyer who misrepresented (or lied) to the Court. He’s their problem, 100%. He lied, and he has dared them to do something about it. As noted, one of the three needs to change their vote from 2023, and Rokita will be gone, and a new AG will be in office. Hopefully someone with more integrity, and more interest in representing the people of the State of Indiana than in advancing his own non-existent political aspirations.
Indiana voters are getting what they deserve as will the nation once we have the government filled with unqualified, unethical, sycophants. Electing these dirt bags is the result of voters not paying attention and pulling a straight party ticket because it is the easiest way to vote and not have to know who your voting for. It should be trashed just like gerrymandering but good luck with that in this state.