INDIANAPOLIS — A Marion County judge has been suspended without pay for 45 days following a misconduct investigation into his courtroom.
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 5 that Judge Jose D. Salinas of Marion Superior Court 23 failed to properly handle criminal and expungement cases and failed to adequately supervise his staff, according to court documents.
Salinas is one of three Indiana judges subject to investigation for similar behavior.
Court documents show the problems spanned several years. In one case, a defendant spent 166 days in jail after being ordered released because staff failed to enter the proper release code. In another, a man was charged as a serious violent felon in April 2026 because his prior criminal case had not been properly expunged, despite a court order granting the expungement years earlier.
According to court documents, a review of Salinas’ court also found 427 pending expungement cases, including 13 cases with delays ranging from 81 to 795 days.
The Indiana Supreme Court noted that Salinas self-reported many of the errors, cooperated fully with the investigation and has since implemented new procedures in his courtroom. The court also noted he has no prior disciplinary history.
The suspension begins at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 7, 2026 and ends at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2027, at which point Salinas will automatically be reinstated, according to court documents.
