SJCPD lawyer and sheriff respond to dismissal of AG's lawsuit

Attorney General Todd Rokita announced his lawsuit in a January press conference at the County-City Building in downtown South Bend. He accused the department of maintaining "sanctuary city" policies, saying it failed multiple times to honor detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), something the sheriff denies.

The case was argued in court in June, but the judge recused himself before ruling on SJCPD's Motion to Dismiss. Three more appointed judges either recused themselves or denied the appointment. The Honorable Jenny Pitts Manier of St. Joseph County Superior Court Five was the fifth special judge appointed to the case.

In a September hearing, she stated she would go back over the June arguments and rule, unless she had more questions. Her ruling came on Friday, granting the defense's Motion to Dismiss.

ABC57's Annie Kate caught up with the lawyer who is representing SJCPD, Michael Smyth of Jones Law Office.

"We raised, essentially, three arguments. And the judge issued an order that dealt with all three. The first two, she accepted our positions, and the last one, the court ruled, essentially, it was better left for another day," he said.

The judge's order essentially states the complaining party is not entitled to any relief, which basically means the AG's office doesn't have standing to bring forward this suit.

The argument deemed better left for another day deals with state sovereignty, and merits further exploration if appealed.

"The state hasn't suffered any injury, and neither has the Attorney General," Smyth said. "They did not, in their complaint, allege any kind of formulation or implementation of a policy by the sheriff that violates the law."

Smyth said he believes the court got it right, saying cases like this, which deal with questions of separation of power and constitutional issues, can have far-reaching consequences.

"To represent the sheriff and know that he does such an effective job, and works so hard to ensure that he is enforcing the law, to have him be accused of violating the law, it's good to see the court recognize that there were no real grounds for making such an accusation, and that the suit was essentially baseless," Smyth said.

SJC Sheriff Bill Redman declined to comment on-camera, but did release a statement on social media:

I've maintained from day one that we follow the law and that this frivolous lawsuit would be dismissed. It's unfortunate that taxpayers were forced to pay for this legal circus. What's also unfortunate, the comments made by local elected officals trying to use this moment to create fear and divsion within our community. My door has and will always be open to conversation. The fact that never happened, espically between local officals is extremely disappointing.

The Chair of the St. Joseph County Democratic Party, Dr. Don Westerhausen, is calling on local elected leaders now. He said in a Facebook post that the elected officials who supported Rokita's lawsuit should be held accountable and apologize.

The statement reads in part:

“The court’s complete dismissal of all counts in the dishonest and politically-motivated lawsuit filed by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita against St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman, based on unfounded assumptions and lack of evidence, is a victory for common sense, lawful local control, and the citizens of St. Joseph County... The people of St. Joseph County deserve accountability from the local officeholders who supported this fraudulent lawsuit. They owe Sheriff Redman, the St. Joseph County Police Department, and the public an apology for the waste of taxpayer money to defend the lawsuit and their blind support of it."

As for next steps, it's unclear.

"The order doesn't specify, as far as I can tell, whether it was dismissed with prejudice or without prejudice," Smyth explained. "So, it's possible they could seek to refile; whether they would be successful is another question. Or they may seek to appeal the court's order and take this to the court of appeals."

ABC57 reached out to the AG's office on Monday for his side of this case, and has yet to hear back.