In a police report and videos from Porter Superior Court Judge Christopher Buckley’s Aug. 15 arrest for drunken driving in Michigan City, Buckley repeatedly emphasized how the arrest will ruin both his life and his career.
The records, provided to the Post-Tribune through a records request to the Michigan City Police Department, detail the night of Buckley’s arrest, his refusal to take a breath test at the scene and his trip to a nearby hospital for a blood draw, per a warrant signed off by a LaPorte County prosecutor, that revealed his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.221%, almost three times Indiana’s legal limit of 0.08%.
Buckley was initially charged with two Class A misdemeanors, operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to .15% or more and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a person, and a Class C misdemeanor, operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
By early Monday afternoon, according to court records, Buckley had pleaded guilty to the Class C misdemeanor. He was sentenced to six months on probation; a suspended sentence of 60 days in jail, with two days of credit for time served and good behavior; and treatment and monitoring through the state’s Judicial and Legal Assistance Program, or JLAP.
After he was sentenced, Buckley issued a statement acknowledging his mistake and his struggle with alcohol. Buckley, a Republican on the November ballot for a second term as judge, also temporarily suspended his campaign after his guilty plea.
According to the police report and charging documents, around 9:05 p.m. on Aug. 15, off-duty police providing security for an outdoor concert along the lakefront near Bartlett’s Fish Camp saw a vehicle go around large concrete planters and pull into a restricted area.
An officer approached Buckley’s vehicle and asked if he could help. Buckley, according to the police report, responded with “Can’t you read?” and motioned toward the driver’s side of his 2024 Lincoln Navigator.
“At that point I saw that the wording spanning both doors said Keep BUCKLEY JUDGE in large letters,” the police report states.
Buckley, 46, of Valparaiso, according to the police report, “proceeded to exit the vehicle in front of me and stumbled as he exited. His eyes were glossy, watery, and bloodshot. I asked how much alcohol he had consumed tonight and he stated none and after stating that he pulled his lips in tight, as if to not let any odor out.”
Buckley initially refused field sobriety tests, telling police that the officer was “going to ruin his career or life.”
Police in the report noted that each time Buckley mentioned his career or life was going to be ruined, police “believed it to represent that this investigation and possible results would jeopardize his status as a Judge.”
The officer, according to the report, didn’t ask Buckley where or what type of judge he was and was unaware of the details until later.
Also in the vehicle were a woman, identified in the police report as his wife and with a reported blood-alcohol content of 0.19%, and an older gentleman. The couple, according to the police report, were dropping off the man closer to the lakefront because he had trouble walking.
“All I was aware of was the markings on his vehicle and when the female would remind me that he is a Judge,” the report states. “When he would make those comments, my response was that he was the maker of his decisions this evening.”
Three times, according to the police report, an officer had to grab Buckley’s arm and tell him he was not free to leave the scene.
Buckley, according to the police report, refused an on-scene chemical test. An officer told him he was under arrest for operating while intoxicated, according to the police report, and that the officer would be contacting an on-call prosecutor to request a warrant for a blood draw.
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“Mr. Buckley stated that ‘I’m a Judge, you just ruined my career.’ I again reminded him that he did,” the police report states.
Police body-cam videos released with the police report show Buckley, in khaki shorts, gym shoes and an untucked, blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, stumbling and almost falling as he attempts field sobriety tests. He is transported to a holding cell at the Michigan City Police Department while an officer gets a warrant for a blood draw, taken to Northwest Health-LaPorte and then handed off to staff at the LaPorte County Jail.
Buckley released a statement after he was sentenced, stating, “I made a series of poor decisions that ultimately led to an arrest by the Michigan City Police Department for Operating While Intoxicated.”
He said he had taken full responsibility for the allegations and had not received any special treatment.
“I was/am a full-time judicial officer, and I feel strongly that officers of the court should be held to a higher standard of conduct than an ordinary citizen — much higher than the standard of conduct I displayed this past Saturday night,” Buckley said in the statement.
Buckley said he could place no blame on anyone but himself for his actions, and was grateful for the opportunity the arrest created to get help.
“I have struggled with alcohol since my service in the Marine Corps more than twenty years ago, and I will take the advice I’ve given countless others in their recovery in the course of my work,” Buckley said.
As judge, he oversaw misdemeanor and low-level felony cases, as well as the county’s mental health problem-solving court, according to his campaign website, which was still online Saturday morning.
According to a release from Buckley’s office sent four days before his arrest, Porter County Mental Health Restoration Court has a graduation ceremony slated for Sept. 14 at Butterfield Pavilion in Valparaiso. The court, according to the release, “is designed to support eligible individuals living with mental illness by connecting them with treatment, structured accountability, and community-based resources.”
Regardless of how Buckley decides to proceed with his campaign, his name will remain on the ballot against Democrat Heather McCarthy because it’s too late to withdraw, Porter County Republican Party Chair Nate Uldricks has said.
Porter County Democratic Party Chair Don Craft, in a statement on Facebook after Buckley’s plea, called on Buckley to resign and for the county Republican Party to denounce his actions, particularly since his plea agreement was his second conviction for driving while intoxicated.
Buckley, according to online court records, was previously charged with a misdemeanor count of operating while intoxicated in Hobart City Court in 2009 and found guilty in that case.
In November 2021, Buckley received a public admonishment from the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications for his actions when he presided over the Lowell Town Court as its judge.
“Judge Buckley fully cooperated with the Commission in this matter and acknowledges he violated the Code of Judicial Conduct,” according to the admonition.
In that matter, according to the admonition, defendants before Buckley were given bail and then issued a “no bond” determination by Buckley when they were arrested on subsequent offenses.
“A review of the individual cases reveals that the files do not include any written motions to revoke or notations that an oral motion was made,” states the admonition.