SJC Probate Court scandal, 862 notices sent after alleged relationship between magistrate and deputy prosecutor 

Now, all the litigants during the time of that relationship, June 2021 through December 2022, are set to get a notice that they may want to have their case reviewed.

In total, 862 notices are going out, which read:

“It has come to the Court’s attention that during the administration of your case, the presiding judicial officer, former Magistrate Aric Rutkowski, violated the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct by engaging in a relationship with a deputy prosecutor assigned to this case. Your rights may have been affected. You may wish to seek further review of your case before the Court. While this may be done on your own, consultation with an attorney is always best practice.”

ABC57's Annie Kate sat down with the court's Chief Compliance Officer, Andrea Halpin.

"It is definitely inappropriate for a judge to have a relationship with any attorney that appears and practices in his court," she said. "This was a deputy prosecutor who was in his court on these child support cases."

She said all the potentially impacted cases had a child support component to them.

"Magistrate Rutkowski was the Title 4D magistrate," she said. "Title 4D is a federal funding program for collection of child support."

That's why the deputy prosecutor would have been in Rutkowski's courtroom, Halpin explained, because the prosecutor's office is also involved with the collection of child support.

"The appropriate response would have been to not have a case at all if that deputy prosecutor was in the courtroom," Halpin said.

The alleged relationship violates the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct, which states a judge must avoid any impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.

The affected cases span from June 2021 through December 2022.

The deputy prosecutor has not been named publicly, but former Magistrate Aric Rutkowsi admitted to violating the judicial conduct code, and resigned in late May this year.

"Ultimately, what he did do was report himself to the [Indiana] Supreme Court, and this resignation and the notice going to all the litigants is the result of that," Halpin said.

It remains to be seen what impacts the relationship may have had on hundreds of child support cases, how many will actually be reviewed, and what could happen if any are reopened.

"It would be my hope that most of the cases proceeded as they would have anyway."

If you get this notice, you are urged to contact an attorney who can review your case to help decide if you need to take action.

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