Students should know their rights and the laws of Indiana and Muncie before they get into trouble with alcohol, drugs or any other run-in they might have with the law, said Marianne Vorhees, Delaware County Circuit Court 1 Judge and Ball State alum.
“People need to be informed,” Vorhees said. “Ignorance of the law is not a defense. They need to know as much as they can about legal rights.”
According to Ball State's 2014 Campus Security report, there were 168 arrests for liquor law violations in 2013, with 157 of those occurring on campus. There were also 485 disciplinary referrals given for liquor law violations on campus.
Vorhees, who graduated from Ball State in 1980 and was elected Delaware County Circuit 1 Judge in 2004 and 2010, said students should know how to behave in the courtroom and around officials. As a county circuit judge, she deals with both criminal and civil trials.
“Go in with a respectful attitude. A positive attitude goes a long way,” Vorhees said. “We notice.”
Vorhees said attire should be business casual, and students should avoid wearing slogans or humorous shirts, as some judges may be offended by a defendant’s attire.
If a student is pulled over or stopped by the police, Vorhees’ biggest piece of advice is to follow directions.
“Do what they say. Don’t try to say ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ or something like that. All of that just makes them more upset,” Vorhees said. “I’m not even allowed to say that I’m a judge.”
In Delaware County, if someone refuses to take a sobriety test the police can take them to an emergency room, where a request for a warrant will be sent to the judge on duty. If the warrant is approved, the hospital is legally allowed to draw a blood sample and test it for drugs or blood alcohol content.
Vorhees said students who are having legal problems should always have an attorney, or at the least talk to their parents or a trusted person about the issue.
“Without advice, it just gets worse,” she said.
Vorhees is a strong advocate for following advice because of her own experiences with the law—law school, that is. She said when she first came to Ball State, she never even considered studying law until her honors adviser convinced her.
“I knew nothing about law school,” she said. “I was always planning on being a teacher. My grandma was a teacher, my dad was a teacher and now my sister is.”
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame law school in 1983, Vorhees worked as a federal law clerk and spent her summers in Indianapolis. She said it was hard to leave Ball State after she graduated.
“I liked the big city, but I missed Muncie. I missed the size, my family, and being a part of a community,” Vorhees said. “I had different ties here that I didn’t feel anywhere else.”
Along with being in the Honors College, Vorhees was a member of the softball team. She was part of the first class of female athletes to receive athletic scholarships due to the 1972 Title IX ruling, which decreed that federally funded programs cannot discriminate against people based on their gender. Vorhees said she’s happy with how much Ball State has grown since she attended.
"I have lots of good memories. I’m really proud of Ball State," she said. "They've done a lot of things to increase its prestige and academics. It is so much more selective than when I went there. They do a great job."
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