State of Indiana v. Beth A. Neff

Goff, Justice.

Turning to the judiciary to remove a duly-elected public official from office is a radical departure from our usual democratic process because it risks silencing the collective voice of the people, spoken in each election. As such, it is a remedy rarely sought and even more rarely granted. This appeal involves such a request by the State to remove the Town of Yorktown's Clerk-Treasurer, Beth Neff, but it does not fall within the exceptionally rare category of cases that warrant removal. Under the statute relied on by the State for this removal action, a public official may be…