Title: In the Matter of the Hon. John F. Hanley

State: indiana

Issuer: Indiana Supreme Court

Document:

ATTORNEY FOR HON. 
 
 
 
 
 
ATTORNEY FOR THE COMMISSION  
JOHN F. HANLEY, JUDGE  
 
 
 
 
ON JUDICIAL QUALIFICATIONS  
 
Lowell A. Shroyer 
 
 
 
 
 
Meg W. Babcock 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
 
 
 
 
 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
 
In the 
Indiana Supreme Court  
 
_________________________________ 
 
No. 49S00-0703-JD-86 
 
IN THE MATTER OF THE HONORABLE 
JOHN F. HANLEY, JUDGE  
IN THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT 
 
_________________________________ 
  
JUDICIAL DISCIPLINARY ACTION 
_________________________________ 
 
May 31, 2007 
 
Per Curiam. 
 
This matter comes before the Court as a result of a judicial disciplinary action brought by 
the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications (“Commission”) against the Respondent 
herein, John F. Hanley, Judge of the Marion Superior Court.  Article 7, Section 4 of the Indiana 
Constitution and Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 25 give the Indiana Supreme Court 
original jurisdiction over this matter. 
Subsequent to the filing of formal charges by the Commission, the parties jointly 
tendered a “Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline” in which the 
parties have stipulated to the following facts.  On Monday, December 4, 2006, the Respondent 
was arrested and subsequently charged with operating a motor vehicle with an alcohol 
concentration equivalent of at least .15 gram of alcohol per either 100 milliliters of the person’s 
blood or 210 liters of the person’s breath, a class A misdemeanor, see Ind. Code § 9-30-5-1(b), 
 
and two other related charges.  Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Respondent pled guilty to the 
class A misdemeanor charge and the State dismissed the remaining two charges.  The court 
sentenced the Respondent to one year in the Marion County Jail, suspended but for one day 
served, and to one year of probation.  The court accepted additional terms of the plea agreement 
that included the suspension of the Respondent’s driver’s license for ninety days and the 
payment of fines, costs, and fees totaling $509.50. 
The Respondent and the Commission have agreed that driving with a blood alcohol 
concentration of .15 constitutes a violation of Canons 1(A)1 and 2(A)2 of the Code of Judicial 
Conduct, and that the Respondent has violated these Canons.  The parties have also agreed that 
the Respondent has cooperated with the Commission throughout these proceedings, and that the 
appropriate sanction under the circumstances of this case is a public reprimand.  The Court 
agrees with the parties. 
Accordingly, John F. Hanley, Judge of the Marion Superior Court, is hereby 
reprimanded.  This discipline terminates the disciplinary proceedings relating to the 
circumstances giving rise to this cause.  The costs of this proceeding are assessed against the 
Respondent. 
 
SHEPARD, C.J., and DICKSON, SULLIVAN, BOEHM, and RUCKER, JJ., concur. 
                                                 
1 Canon 1A states: 
An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. A judge 
should participate in establishing, maintaining and enforcing high standards of conduct, 
and shall personally observe those standards in order to preserve the integrity and 
independence of the judiciary. The provisions of this Code are to be construed and 
applied to further that objective. 
Ind. Judicial Conduct Canon 1(A). 
2 Canon 2A states, “A judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner 
that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”  Jud. Canon 2(A). 
 
2