Jon Dartt – Circuit Court Judge
About Jon Dartt
Jon currently lives outside of Rockport with his wife, Angie, and their two children, Evan and Emily. Jon and Angie grew up in Spencer County and were high school sweethearts who got back together at Indiana University. They have been married almost 31 years. Angie is an attorney and the Treasurer at Larkin Baptist Church. Evan just graduated from Indiana University from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering with a Bachelor of Science in Informatics and a minor in Cybersecurity. Emily will be a senior at Indiana University and is studying law and public policy.
Jon grew up in Spencer County, the son of Mark and Charlotte Dartt. Jon’s dad, Mark Dartt, was a teacher and principal at Grandview School, Rockport Elementary, and South Spencer Middle School. Charlotte was a home maker and worked for her mom, Anna Strahl, at Anna’s Dairy Bar Restaurant in Troy. Jon’s wife, Angie, is the daughter of Linda (Jennings) Gehlhausen and Bob Gehlhausen. Linda was a long-time store clerk at the Richland Market and provided care for children and seniors. Bob was a career law enforcement officer with the Owensboro Police Department.
Jon has been the Spencer County Circuit Court Judge for almost 12 years. He served as Spencer County Prosecutor for 10 years prior to being elected as Judge. Before that he had a general practice law firm, Dartt & Dartt, with his wife, Angie, in Rockport, Indiana. Before moving back to Spencer County, Jon was a judicial law clerk after graduating from law school at the Indiana Court of Appeals where he reviewed cases from all over the State. Afterward, he and Angie worked at Eynon, Harmon and Dartt in Columbus, Indiana before they decided to move back home to Spencer County to raise a family and serve their community.
Education and Professional Associations
Jon is a 1991 graduate of the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington where he received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree with honors. He is also a 2019 graduate of the Indiana Judicial College in which Judges receive extensive and specialized education and training in all areas of the law.
Before going to law school, Jon attended Indiana University in Bloomington and received B.A. degrees in Criminal Justice and Biology and a minor in Religious Studies in 1988. Jon graduated from South Spencer High School in 1984.
Professional Associations
Jon is a member of the Indiana Judge’s Association, Indiana Juvenile Judge’s Association, and the Indiana State Bar Association. He has served on several state-wide committees over the years including the Indiana Problem Solving Courts Committee and the Character and Fitness Committee.
Community Involvement
Jon is a member of Larkin Baptist Church in Patronville where he serves as a Deacon. Over the years he has also taught Sunday School, Bible study, and children’s church. Jon is active in the community as he has coached youth sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, and softball. He has served in many community organizations, including Christian Resource Center where he served as Board Chairman for many years. Jon is the founder of and is active with Spencer County CASA. He is also serving as the current President of the Success Through Mentoring (STM) Board of Directors and is a member of the Stir N Up Hope Board of Directors.
Key Traits for a Qualified and Outstanding Judge
Jon has 36 years of training and experience in criminal and civil law. He has been an attorney for 29 years. Jon believes in less talk and more action as demonstrated throughout his career serving Spencer County: He started or helped start the CASA Program, Truancy Court Program, STM Mentoring Program, Child Support Court, Victim’s Advocate Program, Bad Check Program, Drug Court Program, and Community Correction’s Program. He is active with our schools holding mock trials for students in the courtroom, and requires every juvenile and adult on probation to get their high school education. He has formed partnerships with many faith-based organizations who offer treatment and other alternatives to help our community. Jon has been selected by the Indiana Supreme Court and surrounding courts to serve as Special Judge on high profile and complex cases, including triple homicide cases and cases involving complex DNA issues. Jon also has extensive experience with death penalty and complex child molesting cases. Jon says it is important for Spencer County to have an experienced Judge ready to serve Spencer County families in crisis.
Goals and Objectives if Elected
Judge Dartt, like many other Judges in our area, continues to look for ways to move cases faster through the system. One way is to continue to seek a magistrate as Spencer County is one of the few counties in the State with only one Judge. Jon took that fight to the state legislature in 2018-2019 where a committee unanimously agreed Spencer County needs extra judicial help and recommended a fully State-paid Magistrate for our county, but local State representatives blocked the Magistrate and instead wanted Spencer County to continue to share Perry County’s Magistrate. Jon said he is thankful that Perry County has shared their Magistrate, Karen Werner, with Spencer County and that Senior Judges like William Weikert fill in to help with our county’s large caseload. However, Jon remains committed to fighting for our own judicial officer and is looking at other options such as grants to accomplish that task and save our county taxpayers money.
Jon is also planning to launch a Night Court Program to add additional court time to benefit working families in our county. The Court already has started evening probation hours and the next step is adding the actual court time.
Since 2019, Jon has been working to link our Court to other Courts through the Odyssey Court Program with the goal of being completely digital and paperless by the end of 2020. Jon and Clerk, Sara Arnold, negotiated with the State to receive thousands of dollars in computers and equipment at a great cost-savings to Spencer County in return for agreeing to join the state-wide computer system.
The Court will also continue to partner with STM Mentoring in the future to connect juveniles with positive role models to build better futures for our youth.
A Message from Jon Dartt
“Spencer County has one of the busiest courts in the State. As Judge, I oversee approximately 6,000 cases each year. In spite of the caseload, I work hard to ensure people are treated fairly, respectfully, equally, and have their day in Court. I want people to know that I always listen carefully and consider their positions and, regardless of the outcome, I do my best to decide the case based on the facts and the law. I thank the voters of Spencer County for the opportunity to be their Judge. It has been the highest honor to serve and represent Spencer County and I am excited about meeting and overcoming the challenges that face our community in the future. I will continue to be grounded by my faith, strong family values, and common sense and I will continue to be guided by the Constitution and the Rule of Law. I will continue to make our youth a priority and will work to resolve all cases fairly and impartially. A Judge is one position where the person is so much more important than politics. Regardless whether you are Democrat, Republican, or Independent, I ask for your vote so we can ‘All Rise, Together’!”
