Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Friday morning that he’s sued members of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, including Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter.
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“The nonstop lawfare from this biased, unelected commission that meets in secret continues to be out of control, which is why I am taking this legal action to stop their unethical behavior, not just against me, but for all members of the bar,” Rokita said in a news release. “The First Amendment does not disappear because someone holds a law license or is in an elected office. This commission has used the discipline process itself, time and time again, to burden the work Hoosiers elected me to do, and most certainly has had a chilling effect on other elected officials who are attorneys.”
Rokita filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, on Oct. 1, according to court documents.
Defendants include the nine disciplinary commission members, five former members and Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission Executive Director Adrienne Meiring.
The lawsuit alleges the commission retaliated against Rokita’s protected speech and to interfere with a state consumer case, in which he is a witness.
Carter is the former chair of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, according to the news release. He is still a commission member through June 30, 2029, according to the Indiana Judicial Branch’s website.
Carter declined to comment about the lawsuit Friday morning, saying he had yet to be served.
“A current member and former chair — an elected Democratic County prosecutor — took part in a years-long investigation of Attorney General Rokita while at the same time and overlapping time periods endorsing and raising money for Rokita’s opponent in a statewide race,” the news release said. “That opponent then used the disciplinary stories in campaign ads. Most current and former members are Democratic donors.”
In a news release, Rokita also alleged the commission isn’t a politically neutral ethics body and claimed the commission’s Republicans have donated to anti-Trump causes and candidates, “even as the Attorney General’s office is routinely on the same side as the Trump Administration on those legal issues and files briefs when the cases affect Indiana’s interests.”
The attorney general also claimed that, since 2022, the commission has opened investigations against him because of public comments, legal briefs and news conferences.
Sarah Kidwell, outreach coordinator for the Indiana Judicial Branch’s Office of Communication, Education and Outreach, said in an email that the commission’s response will be filed into the case “according to the federal rules of civil procedure.”
The attorney general’s office would typically represent the disciplinary commission, according to Kidwell’s email, but because he is the plaintiff, they will retain outside counsel.
Rokita also claimed the commission required him to answer an artificial intelligence-generated “grievance that cites no ethics rule and in other cases has allowed confidential files to reach the public.” According to court documents, Rokita alleged he would’ve been suspended from law practice and face further disciplinary action if he didn’t respond to the grievance.
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The grievance was related to Rokita’s personal jet ski transaction. According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Rokita’s office is suing Rochester resident Jess Sampson, who sold the attorney general a personal jet ski, over alleged consumer protection violations.
Sampson questioned if Rokita used his office to pursue a personal grievance, and the attorney general denied misusing his authority and said reporting suspected wrongdoing to his office’s Consumer Protection Division was constitutionally protected.
A Fulton County judge denied Sampson’s motion to dismiss the state’s case and disqualify Rokita’s office, and the court found no ethical violations in June.
Sampson filed his grievance against Rokita with the commission, which the attorney general alleged cited no Rule of Professional Conduct and was AI generated.
“Even so, on July 26, 2026, the Disciplinary Commission demanded a written response from Attorney General Rokita and warned that failure to respond could mean suspension of his law license, even in the absence of other misconduct,” the news release said. “Commission rules require dismissal when a grievance does not raise a substantial question of misconduct.”
According to court documents, Rokita alleged the commission’s demand interferes with pending state litigation, ongoing consumer protection investigation and lawsuit.
Rokita’s complaint asks the federal court to declare the disciplinary commission’s conduct violates the Fifth Amendment. He also wants to not be required to respond to Sampson’s grievance and for his proposed commission reforms be heard and implemented. Rokita also asks for a jury trial.