Judges in Lake County say Indiana's new nepotism law doesn't apply to them.
A new law that took effect July 1 prohibits local officeholders from hiring their relatives or from having public contracts with them without making certain disclosures, along with other restrictions.
But The Times reports (http://bit.ly/ORVXlJ ) that Chief Superior Court Judge John Pera and Circuit Court Judge George Paras say judges have their own ethical safeguards in place and the new law trespasses on judicial independence guaranteed under Indiana's Constitution.
Pera and Paras say they don't have relatives on their personal staffs, and Pera says he isn't aware of any judge in Superior Court who has family among its more than 330 employees.
Pera says judges already are covered by their own ethical rules.
