Former deputy prosecutor suspended for OWI
INDIANAPOLIS — A former deputy prosecuting attorney for Elkhart County was suspended from practicing law after he was found blackout drunk behind the wheel of his car.
Benjamin Mattingly received a 120-day suspension in the April 26 order from the Indiana Supreme Court. The term began when he received an interim suspension on March 15 following a complaint from the disciplinary commission.
The term includes 30 days actively served and the remainder stayed, subject to completing at least two years of probation with monitoring by the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.
Mattingly must also refrain from using alcohol and non-prescription drugs and must have no other violations of the law, the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys or the procedural rules of any agency or court, according to the terms of his conditional agreement.
Mattingly, who at the time was a deputy prosecutor for the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office, was arrested following a June 6 incident during work hours, according to the supreme court order. He began drinking alcohol in his car in the employee parking lot before the start of his lunch hour, then left during the lunch hour to drive around before returning to the parking lot where he continued to drink.
Staff from the prosecutor’s office found Mattingly in his car, slipping in and out of consciousness, and summoned law enforcement, according to the order. He refused to submit to field sobriety tests and was arrested and taken to the hospital for a blood draw.
He pleaded guilty in October to a Level 6 felony count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction. He was sentenced to 365 days in jail with 335 days suspended and given two days of jail time credit.
Mattingly was ordered to serve four days at the Elkhart County Correctional Complex followed by 25 days in a community corrections program.
