INDIANAPOLIS -- The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has asked a judge to deny City-County Councilor Jeff Miller’s request for a special prosecutor in his criminal case.
Miller was charged on Nov. 17 with three counts of child molesting in Marion County. The case was subsequently moved to Hendricks County after Judge Mark D. Stoner recused himself.
Miller then filed a motion asking for a special prosecutor to be appointed in the case. As part of his motion, Miller questioned Prosecutor Terry Curry’s ability to be impartial since Miller’s 2015 opponent in the city-county council race, Democrat Emily Shrock, was a former employee of the prosecutor’s office. Miller ultimately defeated Shrock by about 400 votes.
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In a motion filed with the court on Monday, the prosecutor’s office says Shrock’s former employment has no bearing on its ability to prosecute Miller’s case. For one thing, the motion notes, Shrock left the prosecutor’s office in March 2016. She also wouldn’t stand to gain a seat on the council even if Miller were to be convicted.
“Plainly speaking, even if the Defendant was convicted of all charges and removed from his seat, Ms. Shrock would not take his place,” the motion states. “There is neither reason nor benefit for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office to treat the Defendant more harshly, and the citizens of Marion County in the form of a jury serve in their role as a check and balance on the charging decisions of this office.”
The motion also notes that Shrock left the prosecutor’s office in March 2016.
As a counter-point to Miller’s motion, the prosecutor’s office says appointing a special prosecutor would be “unduly burdensome” on the alleged minor victims in the case.
“Indiana case law has long prioritized limiting the exposure of children to the traumatizing effects of repeating agonizing personal details over and over again,” the motion reads. “Appointing a new prosecutor opens these children up to essentially starting again from the beginning.”
No time table was set for Hendricks Co. Judge Mark A. Smith to rule on the motion. Miller’s next court appearance was scheduled for a pretrial conference on March 16.
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