Special judge will decide whether the criminal case against John Miller will be dropped

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Clark County Councilman John Miller asked the judge overseeing his case to dismiss criminal charges against him.

His lawyers argue that receiving gifts from Jamey Noel during the vote to fund Noel’s ambulance contracts does not violate Indiana’s conflict of interest law.

Miller’s lawyers say Miller did nothing wrong unless he voted on a contract that called for payment to him under the contract.

Receiving value benefits is not the same as making a profit from the contract,” said defense attorney Bart Betteau.

He argued that the special prosecutor’s case against Miller should be dismissed. He said Miller should have gotten something valuable out of the contract, but he didn’t.

“Jamey Noel should not receive money, should not steal money and should not use it for personal expenses,” Betteau said.

Special Judge Larry Medlock questioned the relationship.

“Jamey wants him on the council, why does he want him on the council? And the other question is, if they’re good friends, he’s getting all these benefits, and everyone believes he’s in charge of this organization, then why hasn’t your client filed a disclosure statement?” Medlock asked.

He also questioned why the New Chapel board was not charged with a crime and brought up an important detail from Jamey Noel’s criminal case.

“Basically the board didn’t exist and Jamey Noel did whatever he wanted,” Medlock said.

Special Prosecutor Ric Hertel said that’s why this case exists.

“Jamey Noel was New Chapel, New Chapel was Jamey Noel, that was perception and that was basically reality,” Hertel said.

And he pointed out that if Miller had done something, he wouldn’t be facing criminal charges at all.

“We’re not even here when he fills out a form, I have a conflict of interest, I work for New Chapel, I’m good friends with Jamey Noel, I’m affiliated with New Chapel, then there’s no criminal charges,” he told Hertel .

Medlock will decide in the next few weeks whether to continue the case.

He also heard arguments about whether Miller’s trial should be moved to another county, possibly Bloomington or Fort Wayne. He also did not decide to postpone the trial to Friday.

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