Central Indiana
Divided Supreme Court rules on attorney fees case
March 12, 2012
Michael HoskinsThe Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed the award of attorney fees to an Indiana town, although two justices disagreed and
would have reversed the trial court.
MoreCOA: Judge didn't err in rejecting master commissioner's sentence
January 25, 2012
Jennifer NelsonThe Indiana Court of Appeals found a Marion Superior judge did not err when she rejected a master commissioner’s sentence
of a man who pleaded guilty to a drunk-driving charge because the master commissioner didn’t have the authority to enter
a final judgment on the sentence.
MoreJudge temporarily blocks fines for House boycott
January 20, 2012
Michael HoskinsMarion Superior Judge David Dreyer has blocked the collection of a $1,000-a-day fine imposed on boycotting lawmakers in the
Indiana House of Representatives, granting a temporary restraining order until he can hold a hearing on the merits of the
issue next week.
MoreNobel prize recipient to speak in Indianapolis
January 16, 2012
IL StaffIndiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law will host a lecture by Leymah Gbowee, joint recipient of the 2011 Nobel
Peace Prize, on Feb. 16.
MoreCourt upholds summary judgment in favor of New Castle
January 11, 2012
Jennifer NelsonThe Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed that a contractor and insurance company owe the city of New Castle more than $900,000
in damages and attorney fees for breaching a construction contract.
MoreJudges find eviction was allowed
December 30, 2011
Michael HoskinsThe Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that M&I Bank was allowed to evict two residents of a home that had been foreclosed
because they were leasing and the bank had become owner in a sheriff’s sale.
MoreCOA rules police can act reasonably to control investigation scene
December 30, 2011
Michael HoskinsPolice were justified in handcuffing a woman who they felt was a safety risk inside her home during an investigation, the
Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
MoreTax Court: tax rate recalculation incorrect
December 28, 2011
Jennifer NelsonThe Indiana Tax Court ruled that a government agency incorrectly calculated a Marion County school district’s capital
project fund levy property tax rate for 2011, and it has ordered the Department of Local Government Finance to recalculate
the tax rates going back to 2007.
MoreJustices to consider certified question on municipal reorganization
December 23, 2011
Michael HoskinsThe Indiana Supreme Court has accepted a certified question from a federal judge in Indianapolis that asks whether a township
can reorganize into a city in a way that deprives some residents of their statutory rights to vote for mayor and city council.
More7th Circuit rules school provided appropriate public education
December 22, 2011
Jennifer NelsonHamilton Southeastern Schools has prevailed on appeal that it does not have to reimburse two parents for their son’s
special education at another institution because they claimed the school system wasn’t providing a free appropriate
education to their son, who had a traumatic brain injury.
MoreMarsh wins $19.5M judgment against Roche
December 20, 2011
Scott OlsonA Hamilton Superior judge has awarded Marsh Supermarkets Inc. a total of $19.5 million in damages in a soured sublease deal
with Swiss pharmaceutical- and medical-equipment-maker Roche.
MoreJudge upholds New Castle mayor's election
December 20, 2011
Michael HoskinsA special judge in Henry County has dismissed a challenge to the New Castle mayor’s election, finding that mayor-elect
Greg York is able to become the city’s top executive because he didn’t violate the state’s residency requirement
by keeping two homes and splitting where he spent his time.
MoreDistrict judge and state senator to receive honorary BSU degrees
December 12, 2011
IL StaffU.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt and Indiana Sen. Luke Kenley will receive honorary doctor of laws degrees from Ball
State University at its winter commencement Dec. 17.
MoreAG's office begins distribution of funds to State Fair victims
December 7, 2011
IL StaffThe estates of the seven people killed by the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair in August will receive at least $300,000
each if the offers extended by the state are accepted, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced Tuesday.
MorePhotos admissible when evidence has been destroyed
December 5, 2011
Jenny MontgomeryIn an appeal from a man convicted of Class B dealing in methamphetamine and Class B misdemeanor visiting a common nuisance,
the Indiana Court of Appeals has held that photos of a methamphetamine lab were admissible because the physical evidence had
been destroyed.
MoreCOA sides with appellant in probation violation complaint
December 5, 2011
Jenny MontgomeryThe Indiana Court of Appeals has held that when a probation is transferred between Indiana counties, the receiving county
assumes supervisory authority over the case.
MoreFormer city-county councilor sentenced to 40 months
December 2, 2011
IL and IBJ StaffU.S. Senior Judge Larry McKinney on Thursday sentenced former Indianapolis City-County Councilor Lincoln Plowman to 40 months
in federal prison for attempted extortion and bribery.
MoreMarion County judge admonished for fundraising flyer
November 29, 2011
Michael HoskinsThe Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications has admonished a Marion Superior judge for mailing a questionable re-election
fundraising flyer that it says put the judiciary in a negative light and implied that justice is for sale.
MoreSupreme Court rules town can regulate aquifer's water use
November 23, 2011
Michael HoskinsUnderground aquifers are “watercourses” as defined by state law and as a result the Indiana Supreme Court says
community officials have the ability to reasonably regulate how that water is taken out and used by other local governments.
MoreJustices suspend Logansport lawyer for 1 year
November 15, 2011
Michael HoskinsThe Indiana Supreme Court suspended a Logansport attorney for one year because he routinely allowed his secretary to prepare
and sign his name on bankruptcy petitions and other court documents, including one petition that she mistakenly filed in the
wrong District.
MoreLawsuit filed against former coach, swim organizations
November 10, 2011
Jennifer NelsonA victim molested by the former swim coach at an Indianapolis high school and club team is suing the former coach, the school
corporation and two swimming organizations, arguing several people knew of the coach’s past inappropriate contact with
minors and did nothing about it.
MoreAG says 3rd party school bus fees are unconstitutional
November 10, 2011
Jennifer NelsonIndiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller issued a legal opinion Thursday in response to a request by two Indiana legislators
on whether school systems can outsource bus services to another entity that charges parents.
MoreMother files suit challenging school bus fee
November 3, 2011
Jennifer NelsonA woman in Marion County has filed a lawsuit against a community school corporation because she claims the fee imposed for
her children to ride the bus to school interferes with their constitutional right to an education.
MoreTax Court denies assessor's motion to dismiss appeal
November 2, 2011
Jennifer NelsonIndiana Tax Judge Martha Wentworth denied the Marion County assessor’s motion to dismiss two petitioners' original
tax appeal, finding the parties properly served a copy of the petition with the attorney general’s office.
MoreGreenwood attorney is world's youngest judge
October 31, 2011
Jennifer NelsonAmong the records for longest carpet of flowers laid and the world’s shortest cat you’ll soon find the name of
a Johnson County attorney.
More
Sponsored by
on Facebook & Twitter
on Facebook & Twitter
Indiana Lawyer on Facebook
ADVERTISEMENT
Court Calendar
-
May 23, 2012 Covered Bridge Homeowners Association vs. Town of Sellersburg, Indiana - 5/23/12
-
June 1, 2012 Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co., et al. v. Michiana Contracting, et al. - 6/1/12
-
June 12, 2012 State of Indiana Military Department, et al. v. Continental Electric Co.
-
June 19, 2012 The City of Indianapolis v. National Trust Insurance Co., et al.
Indiana Lawyer Featured Advertisers
ADVERTISEMENT
Back to TopCopyright © All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use.
Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing.
Additional Hosting & Delivery by
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.