Judge dismisses charges against Clinton County board member who tracked employee
A Marion County judge has made the final decision in the case against Clinton County Board Member Keith Nordike, who was accused of illegally tracking a county employee by putting a GPS device on his county-owned car.
Circuit Judge Michael McHaney dismissed Nordike’s criminal charges of felony official misconduct and misdemeanor unlawful use of an electronic tracking device in a hearing Thursday.
“Mr. Nordike is pleased with the ruling of the court,” his attorney, Doug Gruenke, wrote in an email to the Belleville News-Democrat.
Nordike, 52, of Aviston, declined to comment further because he said the state still had the option of appealing the decision.
Gruenke had argued in court documents that a County Board member is allowed to track a car owned by the county. In response, special prosecutor David Rands contended that Nordike would have needed the full board’s approval to track the car because he doesn’t have the authority to do that on his own.
It wasn’t clear as of Friday whether the state planned to appeal. Rands couldn’t be reached for comment.
McHaney had also dismissed the charges back in July, but he gave the state a chance to amend them and reopen the case.
Those revised charges went into more detail, alleging that the owner of the car didn’t consent to the use of the GPS and that Nordike wasn’t authorized by the county board to attach the device. He was accused of tracking county highway department employee Ron Becker. McHaney dismissed the charges with prejudice on Thursday, which means the state can’t file them again.
The case had a Marion County judge and special prosecutor because Clinton County Circuit Judge Stan Brandmeyer and Clinton County State’s Attorney John Hudspeth recused themselves. Nordike is still an active member of the County Board.
This story was originally published August 9, 2019 at 2:45 PM.
