Why doesn’t she just leave?
Maybe she’s a teenager still in school who believes her dreams of higher education and a better life will be markedly
more difficult to achieve if she leaves the family headed by her abusive father.
Maybe she’s a mother who doesn’t believe she will be able to provide for her children if she leaves the husband
who beats her. Maybe she fears him beating the children, too, should he find her after she leaves.
Perhaps the she in this scenario is a he. Can you imagine – in a society where many men believe they must adhere to
a Clint Eastwood-esque archetype of masculinity – a man admitting that his wife beats him?
If you’ve ever asked that question – why doesn’t she just leave? – we implore you to ask that of
the people who run the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. ICADV celebrated its 30th anniversary with a
gala Sept. 11. The statewide network was formed when the first five domestic violence shelters decided to join forces. Those
first five were: Turning Point in Columbus, 1975; the YWCA of Fort Wayne, 1976; YWCA of St. Joseph County, 1977; Women’s
Alternatives in Anderson, 1978; and The Caring Place in Valparaiso, 1978.
Today the network contains about 40 domestic violence organizations across the state, some with more than one location.
The organization reports an increase in the numbers of victims seeking assistance now than it did in the first few years
of its existence. That increase is not due to an uptick in the number of victims, but an increase in awareness of the resources
available to people who do manage to summon the courage to leave their abusive situations.
The organizations now do more than make their communities aware of the problem, and offer more than a hotline to call and
a safe haven for victims. Now shelters provide job training, financial education, and protective order help for victims who
need it.
ICADV works with the Indiana General Assembly on public policy issues, and has helped update statutes so that police and
prosecutors have more tools to use when making a case against an abuser. The network also offers training for police, prosecutors,
and judges.
They also helped broaden a program started in Lapel by the police chief there and Alternatives Inc., what had been Women’s
Alternatives when it started in 1978. Employees of Ricker Oil, a gas company based in Madison County, were trained starting
in 2002 to work with domestic violence victims who may come to their stores needing assistance. The president of Gas America,
which is based in Hancock County, learned about the program and asked Alternatives about it, who then asked ICADV for help
in implementing it in that chain of stores. Programs like these are critical in providing resources to people in rural communities
who may not have a home phone or are afraid to use it to call for help. Liability insurance increased for both gas station
chains once this program was implemented in their stores, but the owners remain committed to the program anyway.
So if you dare to ask that question – why doesn’t she just leave? – of the ICADV, we will caution you to
be prepared for the answer. Sometimes she does leave and her worst fear comes true and she dies at the hands of her abuser.
The violence doesn’t always end when the relationship does.•
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G. Michael Witte letter states he's suspended for three years. The case that got him suspended is identical to my estate case, including havin the Late Judge Deiter recuse himself because Newman had a conflict of interest with the judge. His Modus Operandi is nearly identical.
SIGNED BY G. MICHAEL WITTE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY INDIANA SUPREME COURT DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION DATED MAY 17, 2012.
Your 6th complaint against Lawrence T. Newman filed on 4/12/2012. On 1/31/12, the Indiana Supreme Court entered an order suspending Lawrence T. Newman’s law license for a period of three years. More important, even after three years, Lawrence Todd Newman will not get his license back unless and until he goes through a separate proceeding to prove that he is fit to practice law. This is not an easy process, and the burden is upon Lawrence T. Newman to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is fit to return to practice.
Because of the length of Lawrence T. Newman’s license suspension and the fact he may never succeed in getting his law license reinstated, we are not opening an investigation file at this time.
Should Lawrence T. Newman seek reinstatement in the future, we will open your file and ask Lawrence T. Newman to address your grievance as part of his burden of proving fitness. We have attempted to notify Lawrence T. Newman that this will be required of him.
It may disappoint you to hear that we will be doing nothing on your grievance at this time. However, the most our office can ever accomplish is to take away a lawyer’s license to practice law. We have already done that, albeit as a result of misconduct in cases other than your own. It makes better sense for our office to focus its limited resources on cases where the lawyers are still actively practicing law.
Is there any justice in the Marion County Superior Court Civil Division? I am the unfortunate victim of a retaliatory lawsuit brought by Lawrence Todd Newman, the attorney from an estate case on which I worked as a unsupervised personal representative in 2006. The contract agreement for that case stated that the estate would be responsible for all attorney fees, but Newman refused to close the nearly insolvent estate when my duties were complete and his fees were paid. Instead, he tried to extort additional attorney fees from me by keeping the case open to address a wrongful death claim, despite the estate’s heir’s lack of interest in pursuing it and an expert doctor’s opinion that it would not be worth doing so. He also knowingly deceived me into believing that a “closing statement” was needed to close the estate, even though this requirement had actually been waived by the estate’s heir. The heir’s attorney filed a motion to have Newman removed from the case. After the court closed the probate case with prejudice (barred from further litigation) Newman illegally re-opened the case in another courtroom.
As a result of complaints filed against him for these and similar actions, Newman has been suspended from practicing law for 18 months by the Indiana Disciplinary Commission. In retaliation, he has filed suit against me demanding additional attorney fees for the 2006 estate case, despite the fact that I made no agreement stating that I would pay any fees from my own assets on behalf of the estate. This lawsuit violates the rules of ethics, due process of law, and equal protection of law. Newman has been allowed to file ridiculous pleadings at an alarming rate and has been supported by a biased court system. Judge Carroll refuses to recuse himself from the case despite the fact that, by his own admission, he intends to grant Newman sanctions regardless of the evidence. When my former counsel discovered that the previous judge on the case, Judge Sosin, was a long-time close friend of Newman’s family, Judge Carroll commented for the record during a hearing that Judge Sosin in so many words “he finds the door “was weak for recusing himself from the case as a result of this obvious conflict of interest.
This case is a public policy issue. Statutes put in place to protect unsupervised personal representatives in probate matters are being ignored. This case will affect thousands of individuals involved in probating and the personal representation of estates. Justice cannot possibly be served as long as a biased judge is allowed to defend a “vexatious litigant,” as Newman has been described by Judge Logan in Bradenton, Florida court. If there is any justice in the Marion County Superior Court Civil Division, this case against me will be dismissed with prejudice.
Every affront to decency and every style adopted by criminals is not per se a constituttional violation. Only fools believe or espouse that.
This was an unnecessary change in law, a needless fiddling with a tax that impacted very very few hoosiers, but one that erodes a tax base benefitting very many hoosiers. Just because some people wanted to chalk up a "tax cut" on their legislative brag-list, and didnt give a fig about replacing the revenue any other way. Really stupid. I am a republican my whole life and this just shames me like hell. I have to use a fake name over this because I know my fellow republicans are all brain washed over tax cutting too.