State v. Tippecanoe County Court

This is an original action brought by relator following our denial of a temporary writ of mandate and prohibition on August 19, 1981. The issue raised by relator is whether the entire office of the prosecuting attorney in one county should be disqualified because the elected prosecuting attorney was previously a defense attorney for the accused in two prior cases.

The record in this case shows that defendant, Kenneth Paul Smith, was charged with theft and with being an habitual offender in the Tippecanoe County Court on February 19, 1981. The court found that the prosecuting attorney, John H.…