Case Title: In re Honorable Ryan D. Johanningsmeier

Citation: 

Docket Number: 18S-JD-351

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 2018-08-10T00:00:00Z

Document:
I N  T H E  
Indiana Supreme Court 
Supreme Court Case No. 18S-JD-351 
In the Matter of the Honorable 
Ryan D. Johanningsmeier, Judge of the 
Knox Superior Court 2, 
Respondent. 
Decided: August 10, 2018 
Judicial Discipline Action 
Per Curiam Opinion 
All Justices concur. 
 
 
 
FILED
C L E R K
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
Aug 10 2018, 1:40 pm
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 18S-JD-351 | August 10, 2018 
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Per Curiam. 
We find that Respondent, the Honorable Ryan D. Johanningsmeier, 
Judge of the Knox Superior Court 2, engaged in judicial misconduct by his 
actions in, and failure to recuse from, a close friend’s traffic-infraction case.  
The matter is before us on the Indiana Commission on Judicial 
Qualifications’ (“Commission’s”) “Notice of the Institution of Formal 
Proceedings and Statement of Charges” against Judge Johanningsmeier. 
Together with the filing of formal charges, the parties jointly tendered a 
“Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline” 
stipulating to the following facts. 
Stipulated Facts 
Judge Johanningsmeier has been judge of Knox Superior Court 2 since 
January 2015. He is close friends with B.K., who received a speeding ticket 
in April 2015.  
On June 18, 2015—shortly after vacationing with Judge Johanningsmeier
—B.K. failed to appear in Bicknell City Court on the ticket, so default 
judgment was entered and his license was suspended for failure to 
appear. On June 30, 2015, B.K. filed a petition for a trial de novo in Judge 
Johanningsmeier’s court. Judge Johanningsmeier granted the motion the 
same day and reinstated B.K.’s license, without giving the prosecutor 
opportunity to respond (thus violating Trial De Novo Rule 2(E)) or 
disclosing the conflict.  
The situation came to the Commission’s attention and resulted in a 
March 9, 2016 private caution letter advising Judge Johanningsmeier that 
his close friendship with B.K. would cause a reasonable person to question 
his impartiality under Indiana Judicial Conduct Rule 2.11(A). Despite the 
caution, Judge Johanningsmeier did not recuse and did not set the matter 
for hearing. The case remained in limbo until early 2017.  
Meanwhile, shortly before Christmas 2016 and while the case was still 
pending, Judge Johanningsmeier posted on Facebook a photo of himself, 
his sister, and B.K. at a party in the Judge’s home. The photo, which B.K. 
Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 18S-JD-351 | August 10, 2018 
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“liked,” was visible to the public and showed that Judge Johanningsmeier 
and B.K. were close friends. 
On March 6, 2017—almost a year after Judge Johanningsmeier’s private 
caution letter—the prosecutor moved for bench trial in B.K.’s case. Instead 
of recusing, Judge Johanningsmeier set the motion for hearing on March 20, 
2017. At the hearing, he stated on the record that the case involved “a friend 
of mine” and “I was hoping we could just get the State to dismiss it.” The 
prosecutor immediately orally moved to dismiss the case, and Judge 
Johanningsmeier granted the motion. 
Discussion 
The Commission charges, and Judge Johanningsmeier agrees, that his 
conduct violated six provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct: 
• Rule 1.1, requiring judges to comply with the law;  
• Rule 1.2, requiring judges to avoid impropriety and act at all times in 
a manner promoting public confidence in the judiciary’s integrity;  
• Rule 1.3, prohibiting judges (as relevant here) from abusing the 
prestige of judicial office to advance others’ personal or economic 
interests;  
• Rule 2.2, requiring judges to uphold and apply the law and to 
perform all judicial duties fairly and impartially;  
• Rule 2.4(B), prohibiting judges from allowing (as relevant here) 
social relationships to influence the judge’s judicial conduct or 
judgment; and  
• Rule 2.11(A), requiring judges to disqualify themselves in any 
proceeding in which their impartiality might reasonably be 
questioned. 
The parties’ agreement cites no aggravators. As mitigators, the parties 
agree that Judge Johanningsmeier cooperated with the Commission’s 
investigation and is remorseful. And they agree that the appropriate 
sanction under the circumstances is a public reprimand plus assessing 
costs of this proceeding against Judge Johanningsmeier.  
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We agree with the parties. “A public reprimand is a significant blemish 
on a sitting judge’s reputation, adversely affecting the public’s evaluation 
of the judge’s performance in office.” In re Newman, 858 N.E.2d 632, 635–36 
(Ind. 2006). And we have publicly reprimanded a judge under comparable 
circumstances. 
In In re Van Rider, a judge failed to recuse from his son’s criminal case 
and instead ordered him immediately released from jail on his own 
recognizance. 715 N.E.2d 402, 404 (Ind. 1999). Similarly here, Judge 
Johanningsmeier failed to recuse and instead acted to secure favorable 
treatment for his friend. Such actions are obvious violations of a judge’s 
most basic ethical duty—impartiality. And they “diminish[] public 
confidence in the judiciary” and “erode the public’s perception of the 
courts as dispensers of impartial justice.” Id. We found a public reprimand 
appropriate in Van Rider and find it appropriate here as well.  
Conclusion 
Accordingly, Ryan D. Johanningsmeier, Judge of the Knox Superior 
Court 2, is hereby reprimanded. This discipline terminates the disciplinary 
proceedings relating to the circumstances giving rise to this case. The costs 
of this proceeding are assessed against Respondent. 
All Justices concur. 
A TT O R N E Y F O R  RESP O N D E NT 
Patrick J. Olmstead 
Greenwood, Indiana 
A TT O R N E YS F O R  I ND I A NA C OM MIS SI ON  O N J U DI C IAL  
Q U AL I FI CA TI O NS  
Adrienne L. Meiring, Counsel to the Commission 
Marcus McGhee, Staff Attorney to the Commission 
Indianapolis, Indiana