Court Roundup

Indiana
Judge admonished over traffic ticket
FREMONT, Ind. (AP) — A state panel is admonishing a northeastern Indiana judge for trying to negotiate a settlement instead of setting a hearing when a defendant challenged a traffic ticket.
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications said Monday that Fremont Town Court Judge Martha Hagerty had acknowledged she violated the code of judicial conduct.
The commission says Hagerty told the defendant his license would be reinstated if he paid a fine and improperly spoke privately with the defendant and the prosecutor without the other being present. The prosecutor dismissed the case two years later.
The commission says Hagerty took corrective steps, including establishing a separate office for the judge and rearranging hours to facilitate clerk coverage.

Rhode Island
Ex-mayor pleads guilty to charge
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The former mayor of a Rhode Island city that recently emerged from bankruptcy has pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge.
Charles Moreau was charged with taking gifts from a political supporter who got a lucrative city contract. He pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors. He is scheduled to be sentenced in February.
Michael Bouthillette is also expected to plead guilty. He received a no-bid contract to board up houses in Central Falls and has acknowledged in court papers paying for part of a furnace and doing repair work on Moreau’s former homes.
Both men are expected to get prison time. Moreau resigned as mayor in September.