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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Supreme Court will not stay a contempt order entered against the mayor of Kokomo over construction at the Howard County courthouse.
The justices declined Sept. 8 to grant Mayor Greg Goodnight’s Appellate Rule 56(A) motion to stay the contempt order issued Aug. 26 by Howard Superior Judge William Menges. The contempt of court order said the mayor had given directions for a contractor to place concrete pipes so they blocked a courthouse drive and prevented county crews from getting the area open.
Menges’ order says the county asked the city’s construction project manager when the west entrance of the courthouse would be restored. The work on a trail that runs next to the courthouse had blocked access for transporting prisoners into court for hearings.
The order also says that Goodnight told the city engineer to order a contractor to place the sewer pipes in the drive “solely for the purpose of disrupting the regular proceedings of the court.”
Goodnight was taken to Menges’ office on Aug. 26 by a sheriff’s deputy and was allowed to go free once the pipes were moved. Goodnight was never placed in handcuffs or booked into jail.
Goodnight filed an appeal of Menges’ contempt order three days after it was issued. He also filed a verified emergency motion to stay the contempt order with the Indiana Court of Appeals, but it denied the motion.
Goodnight’s appeal remains pending before the Court of Appeals, In the Matter of the Direct Contempt of Greg Goodnight, 34A02-1408-MI-592.
The justices did not grant nor deny any other transfers for the week ending Sept. 12.
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