By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
October 9, 2025
The second disciplinary complaint alleging Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita had been untruthful with the Indiana Supreme Court has been dismissed, bringing an end to a case that erupted days after the state’s top lawyer was publicly reprimanded in November 2023.
According to an order issued by the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon, Rokita and the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission reached a resolution through mediation. The parties submitted a conditional agreement and a petition to dismiss as moot the pending disciplinary complaint, which had included charges that Rokita made “false statements of facts” and “engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.”
The conditional agreement and petition are confidential. However, the Supreme Court’s order on Oct. 9 quotes from the parties’ joint statement which asserted Rokita “affirms that he ‘really meant it’ when he signed the affidavit accepting responsibility” for his misconduct that led to the first disciplinary complaint filed against him and said he could not have successfully defended himself against the first complaint’s charges.
Also, in the joint statement, Rokita said he voluntarily signed the affidavit resolving the first disciplinary complaint and he acknowledged the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct apply to all attorneys in Indiana.
In a two-page order signed by Chief Justice Loretta Rush, the Indiana Supreme Court granted the joint petition to dismiss and discharged the three hearing officers who had been assigned to the case.
The attorney general’s office did not issue any public statement or respond to a request for comment. Also, Rokita’s attorneys, Gene Schaerr of Schaerr Jaffe in Washington, D.C.; James Ammeen, of Ammeen and Associates in Indianapolis; and Paul Mullin, of Lewis and Wilkins in Indianapolis, did not respond to requests for comment.
The second disciplinary complaint arose from the statement Rokita released a few hours after the Supreme Court issued a public reprimand related to his conduct toward Indianapolis OB/GYN Caitlin Bernard. Rokita immediately fought the complaint by claiming the disciplinary investigation was politically motivated and the commission was seeking to infringe his right to free speech. Also, he took the unusual step of filing a motion to dismiss with the Supreme Court, rather than filing his answer to the complaint.
In a July 2025 ruling written by Justice Derek Molter, the majority of the Supreme Court denied the motion to dismiss and suggested Rokita and the disciplinary commission try to mediate their differences. The court’s ruling at that time noted the dispute between the parties “seems to boil down primarily to whether (Rokita) really meant it when he told us he was accepting responsibility for violating the Rules of Professional Conduct.”
As part of its order dismissing the second disciplinary complaint, the Supreme Court noted the disciplinary commission explained the joint statement included with the conditional agreement “clears up any confusion over (Rokita’s) public statement” made after the public reprimand. Also, the order said, the parties asked the Supreme Court to find the joint statement “warrants dismissing this matter as now moot.”
With the Supreme Court’s ruling, the second disciplinary case is now closed. Rokita was not given any punishment. Also, the court declined to assess any costs in the case, saying both parties “have expressly agreed to be responsible for their own costs in this matter.”
Rokita’s entanglement with the disciplinary commission began in the summer of 2022, when he made several public comments about Bernard and said his office was investigating whether she had complied with medical privacy and reporting requirements. Bernard entered the public spotlight in July of that year after she acknowledged to a newspaper reporter that she had performed a legal medication abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio because the laws in that state restricted the terminations of pregnancies.
Twenty-one grievances were filed with the disciplinary commission against Rokita for his actions toward Bernard. The disciplinary commission then lodged a formal complaint in September 2023, charging the attorney general with making statements that could have prejudiced a legal proceeding against Bernard and that had no purpose other than to embarrass or burden her.
Represented by Schaerr Jaffe, Rokita settled the first disciplinary matter by reaching a conditional agreement with the commission. The agreement focused on the attorney general’s interview on Fox News, during which he called Bernard an “abortion activist acting as a doctor” and said she had a history of failing to file medical reports with the state as required by Indiana law.
Rokita entered into the agreement, and signed the affidavit, acknowledging he had violated the Indiana rules of attorney professional conduct. Also, Rokita and the disciplinary commission had agreed on the punishment of a public reprimand.
However, about two hours after the Supreme Court accepted the agreement and issued the reprimand, Rokita released a lengthy, combative statement defending himself. In part, he denied he violated anyone’s confidentiality or any laws and said that he had evidence and an explanation for everything he said on Fox News. Also, he said he was required, as part of the resolution of that case, to “sign an affidavit without any modifications” and had agreed to settle because it would “save a lot of taxpayer money and distraction.”
Two grievances were filed in response to Rokita’s post-reprimand statement. The disciplinary commission opened an investigation in November 2023 and, in January 2025, filed the second complaint.
The case is In the Matter of Theodore E. Rokita, Respondent, 25S-DI-29.
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
