The Wayne Township judge who rules on eviction cases defended himself from social media critics during a meeting with housing advocates on Oct. 24.
Judge Gerald Coleman hosted the meeting in his courtroom, where every week dozens of people are told they’re being evicted.
The eviction crisis in Indianapolis extends beyond Wayne Township. But Coleman was the focus of an Oct. 15 Facebook post from community advocate Wildstyle Paschall, who pointed out that Coleman regularly gives people only five days to move out.
And because many of the eviction cases in Wayne Township happen on Thursday, Paschall argued that effectively gives people only three business days.
“With Democrats like this who needs Republicans,” he wrote.
In response, Coleman came to the meeting with printed orders from 87 eviction cases over the previous month and a half. He said about half of the people in those cases got up to 14 days to move out, and 43% got more than two weeks.
“The orders speak for themselves,” Coleman said.
Of the 15 eviction hearings Coleman ruled on Oct. 23, 11 people got five days to move out, according to a Mirror Indy analysis of court records. Three people got eight days, and one person got 14 days. Coleman told Mirror Indy that, with rare exceptions, he only gives five days to people who don’t go to their hearing. Readily available court records often don’t make it clear if the tenant went to their hearing.
Indiana law requires judges to give people at least 48 hours.
Coleman, who became Wayne Township judge in 2015, told IndyStar in 2023 that he typically gives tenants five days to leave. The article detailed the case of one woman who was terminally ill in the hospital and received five days to move out.
Coleman, at the Oct. 24 meeting, said he didn’t remember that case but said it’s likely he didn’t know the woman was in the hospital. It’s common for people to not go to their eviction hearing. When that happens, there is a default judgment against them.
“Why in the world would I give a tenant who’s terminally ill in the hospital five days?” Coleman asked. “Why would I do that?”
Wildstyle responds: ‘The judge is not a credible source’
Paschall said he was invited to the meeting but decided not to go because he didn’t want to be “gaslighted.”
“The judge is not a credible source,” Paschall told Mirror Indy after the meeting.
Paschall said he criticised Coleman on Facebook after seeing a blog post from Indy Housing Project, a housing advocate collective that shares resources.
“The impact of this timeline is devastating,” the blog post says of giving people five days to leave.
Paschall also said corporate landlords in the area shouldn’t be so aggressive in filing evictions. In some parts of Marion County, at least a third of single-family homes are owned by investors, according to a report from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.
For one person, Coleman’s meeting was ‘my time to speak up’
Alicia Seagraves had no idea Coleman held his meeting to respond to a post on Facebook.
“I don’t do social media like that,” she said.
Instead, Seagraves heard about the meeting, figured it was a chance for tenant advocates to speak up and decided to go. She sat in the back row and pressed Coleman on topics other than move-out dates — such as how long a day in court can take.
Most township judges in Marion County set a block of time for all eviction cases in a day. So, even though your hearing might be scheduled for 9 a.m., it could be two hours before your case is called.
“That’s time during a day when they are not at work making money,” Seagraves said.
Coleman defended how he runs his court, saying he will prioritize cases if someone gives him a reason for why they need to leave early.
After the meeting, Seagraves told Mirror Indy she was happy she went.
“I felt that this is my time to speak up,” she said. “And that’s what I did.”
Now, Seagraves said she plans to pass out information to people living at apartment complexes. That way, she said, they can be better prepared for court if their landlord tries to evict them.
A clarification was made on Oct. 28, 2025: This article has been updated with additional information about eviction hearings on Oct. 23.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
