Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, speaks on the Indiana Senate floor on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Sen. Mike Bohacek is still legally driving more than five months after an alleged drunken driving incident in Michigan City, and the Republican lawmaker has asked to keep his license — so long as he installs an alcohol-monitoring device in his car, according to new court documents.

The motion, filed in LaPorte Superior Court by Bohacek’s Michigan City-based attorney, David Payne, requests the installation of an ignition interlock device, or IID, as an alternative to license suspension.

Under Indiana law, courts can order such devices in lieu of suspending driving privileges when someone is charged with operating while intoxicated, if doing so would cause a hardship. Bohacek also refused a breathalyzer test during the traffic stop.

Payne argued that suspension of Bohacek’s license would impose “a substantial hardship” on the senator and his family.

There was no ruling on the request as of Monday, June 9.

The case remains without a judge, and legal proceedings have been stalled for weeks due to multiple judicial recusals.

Three special judges, all in LaPorte County, opted out from the case one after another.

Then, all the judges and magistrates of LaPorte County filed a motion saying they collectively “have a conflict herein and they all hereby recuse themselves in this cause of action.”

Judge Jeffrey L. Thode of the Superior Court in neighboring Porter County, was assigned the case last week but has not yet accepted, according to the state’s online court portal. A special prosecutor from Porter County is handling the matter.

The underlying charges, filed Thursday, May 15, stem from a Friday, Jan. 24 incident in Michigan City, after a citizen reported seeing Bohacek “drinking an open container and stumble out of his vehicle” in a Panda Express parking lot, according to charging documents obtained by the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Police later located and pulled him over near Swan Lake Cemetery along U.S. 20. He was taken to a hospital, where a blood test revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.28% — more than three times the legal limit in Indiana.

But Bohacek wasn’t arrested at the time. Under Indiana law, members of the General Assembly are shielded from arrest in most cases during the legislative session — a protection known as legislative immunity.

That meant Bohacek’s case was kept sealed and the senator remained uncharged for months.

The incident did not become public until last week when reporters began asking for details. Court records show Bohacek was formally charged with three misdemeanors: operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of 0.15% or more; operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person; and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Bohacek’s license has not been suspended. Typically, Indiana law requires a license suspension following a court’s finding of probable cause in DUI cases, as well as when a person refuses a breathalyzer test. But without a sitting judge, that process has stalled.

Bohacek has not commented publicly on the case.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, didn’t specify when he learned about the incident or if any disciplinary action was taken during this year’s legislative session, or since adjournment.

“I was extremely disappointed to hear this news, and I expressed my disappointment to Sen. Bohacek,” Bray said in a statement. “Our Senate Rules make clear members are to be held to high standards, and this does not meet that standard. Here in Indiana, nobody is above the law. I will be monitoring this case as it goes forward and our legal system does its work, after which I will consider any next steps.”

Bohacek, who represents portions of LaPorte, St. Joseph and Starke counties, has served in the Indiana Senate since 2016. He most recently served on the Corrections and Criminal Law, Health and Provider Services, and Local Government committees.

Since charges were filed against Bohacek, details have emerged about a similar case involving Rep. Jason “Beau” Baird, R-Greencastle, who was arrested in 2018 for operating while intoxicated in Lafayette during his first campaign for office.

Baird pleaded guilty to OWI and later accepted a plea agreement in 2019, after taking office. But court records show the representative’s name was misspelled as “Jason Bean Baird” rather than “Jason Beau Baird,” making the case more difficult to locate in public searches.

The Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s office did not respond to the Capital Chronicle’s request for comment about the misspelled name.