Title: Janiec v. Lake Cty. Bd. of Election & Registration
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 45S00-1104-MI-228
State: Indiana
Issuer: Indiana Supreme Court
Date: April 21, 2011

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT  
 
 
 
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE 
William I. Fine  
 
 
 
 
 
James L. Wieser 
Highland, Indiana 
 
 
 
 
 
Schererville, Indiana 
 
R. Cordell Funk 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Schererville, Indiana 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
In the 
Indiana Supreme Court  
_________________________________ 
 
No. 45S00-1104-MI-228 
 
 
GEORGE T. JANIEC, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Appellant (Plaintiff  below), 
 
v. 
 
LAKE COUNTY BOARD OF  
ELECTION AND REGISTRATION,  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Appellee (Defendant below). 
_________________________________ 
 
Appeal from the Lake Superior Court,  
No. 45D12-1103-MI-00014 
Honorable Jesse M. Villalpando, Special Judge  
_________________________________ 
 
On Petition To Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 45A05-1103-MI-155 
_________________________________ 
 
April 21, 2011 
 
Per Curiam. 
 
This matter comes to us on a Verified Petition for Emergency Transfer under Appellate 
Rule 56(A).  Appellant George T. Janiec, a Republican Party candidate for the office of Mayor 
of the City of Hammond and an incumbent member of the Hammond School Board, was 
removed from the May 3, 2011 primary election ballot by Appellee Lake County Board of 
FILED
CLERK
of the supreme court,
court of appeals and
tax court
Apr 21 2011, 4:10 pm
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Election and Registration (“the Board”).  Janiec challenged the Board’s decision in the Lake 
Superior Court, requesting judicial review and injunctive relief.  The trial court found in favor of 
the Board.  Janiec appealed the trial court’s decision and sought immediate transfer of the appeal 
to this Court.  Both parties have filed principal appellate briefs in support of their respective 
positions. 
 
 
The Board and Lake Superior Court held that Janiec’s candidacy was inconsistent with 
the ethical policies applicable to members of the Hammond School Board.  The Court finds no 
basis in statute or law for disqualifying Janiec on this basis.  See Burke v. Bennett, 907 N.E.2d 
529, 532 (Ind. 2009) (disqualification statute to be construed “consistent with the longstanding 
respect for the right of the people to free and equal elections”).  Accordingly, the Court hereby 
GRANTS the Verified Petition for Emergency Transfer and REVERSES the Lake Superior 
Court’s “Judgment Order” issued on March 30, 2011.  The Board and its members are 
ENJOINED from removing Janiec’s name from the ballot as a Republican candidate for Mayor 
of Hammond in the May 2011 primary election. 
 
 
 
In addition, based on the representations made by the parties in their respective filings, 
the Court FURTHER ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: 
1) Any absentee ballot or early vote that has already been cast in the May 3, 2011 
Republican primary election as of 4 p.m. on April 21, 2011, shall not be 
considered invalid because it does not include Janiec’s name; 
2) The Board shall reprogram the voting machines being used for the May 3, 2011 
Republican primary election to include Janiec’s candidacy for the office of Mayor 
of Hammond; 
3) With regard to absentee ballots already distributed but which have not been 
returned, the parties shall immediately agree on a mechanism for absentee voters 
who have not yet cast their ballots to vote for Janiec if they so choose; 
4) With regard to early voters who have not yet cast their ballots, the parties shall 
immediately agree on a mechanism to give those early voters an opportunity to 
vote for Janiec if they so choose; 
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5) With regard to any other issues upon which the parties are in disagreement that 
have not been covered by this order, the parties shall immediately work to reach 
agreement on those issues; and 
6) The parties shall notify this Court, no later than 12:00 p.m. EDST on Monday, 
April 25, 2011, of the agreements they have reached with regard to the matters 
discussed in numbered paragraphs 3-5 above, at which time the Court shall 
resolve any disputes with regard to those items that the parties themselves have 
been unable to resolve.  The parties shall do so by way of a Notice containing the 
caption of this case and signed by attorneys for both parties, that is both mailed to 
the Clerk of this Court (217 State House, 200 West Washington St., Indianapolis, 
IN  46204) and e-mailed as a .pdf attachment to this Court’s Administrator at 
KSmith@courts.state.in.us. 
 
 
The Clerk of this Court is directed to assign this appeal a Supreme Court cause number 
and transfer the chronological case summary from the current Court of Appeals cause number to 
the new cause number.    
 
Shepard, C.J., and Dickson, Sullivan, Rucker and David, JJ., concur.