There appeared recently in area papers a letter written by Judge Jarrette, the judge of Kosciusko Superior Court 2, who is being challenged for re-election. The letter was titled "Special prosecutor expenditure explained by Superior Court Judge."
I was not aware until this election cycle started that county taxpayers have been paying for a special prosecutor in Superior Court 2 since 2004. While Judge Jarrette explained the legal process for the appointment of a special prosecutor, it did not answer the question I want to know.
Why has he hired a special prosecutor, paid for with our tax dollars, to handle probation violations filed in his Court for the past four years in the first place? I thought our elected Kosciusko County prosecuting attorney was to decide which cases should be prosecuted. Why isn't the elected prosecutor allowed to exercise his constitutional discretion in pursuing these matters?
It seems like the judge wants to be both judge and prosecutor. How is that fair to individuals facing probation violations?
I don't know what's going on in that court, but if the other candidate can solve the problem, I'm all for it. I don't like my tax dollars wasted on a special prosecutor when we have an elected one that handles these matters in all the other courts.
