An Indiana judge rejected a phone call from Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s office about a pending criminal case, ruling that the contact was an improper communication made without the other parties involved in the case. Franklin Circuit Judge Alex Dudley, serving as special judge in the Fayette County case of Jordan Wadle, informed attorneys of the contact in a Sept. 25 order. The order said the court would not consider the communication under Indiana’s trial rules. The court later confirmed it was made by phone, leaving no recording or written correspondence to examine. The reason for the call has not been made public. The order came as Wadle, who is serving a prison sentence, sought permission to attend his father’s funeral. A family member filed a handwritten emergency transport petition on Sept. 25, one day before the funeral. The court struck the request without ruling on it, according to the reported account. Wadle was convicted after a 2015 incident in which he struck Charles Woodard with his car and left the scene. Woodard survived but sustained serious injuries. A jury acquitted Wadle of aggravated battery in 2018 and found him guilty of four other offenses, including leaving the scene of an accident and driving while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury. He received a 16-year sentence, with two years suspended. In 2020, the Indiana Supreme Court found that all but Wadle’s conviction for leaving the scene of an accident had to be vacated under its double-jeopardy analysis. The justices left his 16-year sentence in place, with two years suspended to probation. In November 2025, Wadle asked to have his sentence modified so he could be released for testing to see whether he could donate a kidney to his father, who had end-stage renal disease. Dudley denied that request after a hearing. Wadle’s estimated release date is Nov. 15. Ex parte communications are communications with a judge about a pending matter that do not include all sides. Such contacts can threaten the appearance of an impartial process, which is why courts generally bar them. Beckwith’s office had not explained the purpose of the call in the reported account.