A Hendricks County judge has decided to wait on making the decision to hold Indiana's Department of Child Services in contempt of court for failing to produce documents relating to the case of Judah Morgan, who was killed by his biological parents in 2021.

The boy, age 4, had been placed with his biological parents for the first time on April 7, 2021. Despite past abuse allegations, claims that he was being abused during the placement, and reported violations over the summer of 2021, Judah was found murdered in the family's rural Hamlet home on October 11, 2021. 

Still, Hendricks Superior Court Judge Robert W. Freese said during Monday's hearing in Danville that he will wait to decide if whether DCS will be held in contempt of court

Representing Judah's foster family, attorney Charles P. Rice, claims DCS continues to withhold records that would be essential to the case. Records include internal text messages, emails, photos, video recordings, mandated drug tests that should have been conducting and more from Judah's case are among the record the attorney claim they do not have, despite multiple requests.  

During Monday's court session, Indiana DCS Director Eric Miller, was called to prove the department was not in contempt of court for failing to provide those documents after the department had been named as a non-party in a suit filed by the family of Judah Morgan against his biological father, Alan Morgan.

Court documents revealed Miller took the stand, reiterated that he was not involved enough with the day-to-day machinations of the department to understand particulars of how court-ordered documents might have been provided. Miller claimed that he had been advised by the DCS counsel that all necessary documents required for the case had been handed over to the court. Miller also claimed his email, nor those of past DCS directors, were ever searched. 

Attorney Rice further questioned Miller on if the records even exsisted, since they hadn't been presented to the court. Miller claimed that that could very well be the case. 

Court documents stated representatives for Indiana DCS had argued Monday that the documents they provided to the court were what they had, and that additional documents shouldn't be required to produce more documents just because the plaintiff thinks they should. DCS attorneys William Young and E. Ryan Chouse claimed that the department had gone through over 130,000 records with a team of 20 attorneys to gather up documents that the court had ordered them to provide. 

It was reported that Indiana Department of Child Services Internal Affairs Officer Christine MacDonald also took the stand. She testified some of the information the court requested, like text messages, would have had to be provided by third-party providers like Verizon or the Indiana Office of Technology. MacDonald claimed that she did not look for text messages, specifically as part of the court order, because she believed she could not get access to them. 

Regardless, Jenna Hullett, Judah’s foster mother and second cousin who had raised the boy since he was an infant, said she will continue advocating for changes on DCS, and plans on moving forward with this lawsuit with hopes of making that change. 

Judge Freese agreed there were some issues with the the lack of documentation provided by DCS, but that he also wanted to give them time to get documents and not overburden an agency. Freese said he believed more subpoenas to third parties had been warranted following DCS claims of producing all documentation. The judge was also concerned about the emails of the current DCS director and former DCS director, Terry Stigdon, never being searched. 

Judge Freese said that the director had testified that the department had never destroyed or disposed of any documents since Judah's death, and that if they have produced everything there would not be anything else for DCS to give attorneys representing Judah's family regarding the death of the boy.

Judge Freese stated he wanted orders from both parties by Monday, October 2. 

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