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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA felony domestic battery charge against a former Indiana judge could be dismissed by next summer if she complies with the terms of a pretrial diversion agreement, which includes completing a domestic abuse intervention program.
Former Crawford Circuit Judge Sabrina R. Bell earlier this summer entered into a pretrial diversion agreement in the case that was filed against her in May alleging she struck her ex-husband in front of their three children when he arrived at her home to pick up the children for a scheduled visit.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bell must pay $479 to the Crawford County clerk and complete a 14-week Domestic Abuse Intervention Program through Crisis Connection. She also agreed to sign certain waivers allowing special prosecutors to track her compliance with the program.
The agreement comes after Bell announced via Facebook in April that she was ending her reelection campaign. The following month, the Level 6 felony charge was filed against her after the alleged incident with her ex-husband, Douglass A. Goerss.
If Bell complies with the terms of the agreement — which also include not violating any municipal, state or federal laws — the special prosecutor has discretion to dismiss the charge in July 2023.
Bell’s status on the Indiana Roll of Attorneys is currently listed as inactive in good standing, and she marked “N/A” when asked to provide employer information for the diversion agreement. Her law license was initially suspended when she was charged, but her suspension was later terminated when she agreed to formally step down from the bench and never hold judicial office again.
Following the appointment of a senior judge and a judge pro tem, Gov. Eric Holcomb this month appointed Justin Brandt Mills as the new Crawford Circuit Court judge.
Floyd County Prosecutor Christopher Lane is listed in online court records as the special prosecutor in Bell’s case, State of Indiana v. Sabrina R. Bell, 13C01-2205-F6-000039. The diversion agreement is signed by Elizabeth Stigdon, chief deputy prosecutor in the Floyd County Prosecutor’s Office.
Bell is represented by attorney Amie Newlon of Corydon.
Bell’s law license has been suspended once before after she was one of three southern Indiana judges involved in an early morning brawl at a downtown Indianapolis White Castle that resulted in two judges — former judge Andrew Adams and Judge Bradley Jacobs, both of Clark County — being shot. The jurists were in Indianapolis for a judicial conference.
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended Bell for 30 days without pay following the incident. She was facing her first reelection bid since the shooting this fall.
Mills, Holcomb’s appointment to replace Bell, was initially her challenger in the May primary before she ended her campaign. He must still run in the November General Election for the judicial term that begins in January, from which he was trying to unseat Bell.
Mills’ Democratic challenger is Stanley V. Pennington, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.
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