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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe son of Anderson’s mayor, who also previously served as an assistant city attorney, is facing an attorney discipline complaint stemming from his misdemeanor conviction after a drunken-driving property damage crash last year.
The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission last week filed a formal complaint against Evan B. Broderick, son of Anderson Democratic Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr., who also is an attorney and former Madison County prosecutor.
Evan Broderick last September pleaded guilty to charges of Class A misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person and Class B misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident, according to the disciplinary complaint.
He received a suspended sentence.
“A year ago I immediately accepted responsibility for my mistakes and plead guilty to criminal charges filed against me and apologized to all involved, including the legal community,” Broderick said in an email. “I self-reported this matter to the disciplinary commission immediately after it occurred, and I expected this complaint to be filed as a part of the process. I have fully cooperated with the commission and have been working with their representatives to resolve this matter in the near future. I again apologize for my past actions and look forward to moving forward.”
Broderick was arrested one year ago after police responded to calls that a vehicle struck a pole. Police reports noted a trail of radiator coolant leading from the site of the crash to Broderick’s damaged vehicle in a nearby Wendy’s parking lot in Edgewood, just west of Anderson.
The commission says before the crash, Broderick had been drinking at home before leaving to serve as counsel for the Anderson Board of Zoning Appeals at a public meeting earlier that same afternoon. After the meeting, he went to Kroakerheads, a downtown Anderson bar, and continued drinking until shortly before the crash.
Edgewood Police Capt. Shane Briggs said Broderick refused to take a breath test and used his cellphone to call Anderson assistant police chief Jake Brown to “take care of this.” The Edgewood officer “refused to speak to Brown and continued pursuing the criminal investigation,” according to the complaint.
The complaint notes a blood draw taken after a warrant was issued concluded Broderick had a blood alcohol content nearly four times the legal limit — 0.29%.
The complaint also details Broderick’s alleged belligerence as he was booked into jail. He initially refused to change into jail clothes until staff began using force and “signed book-in processing paperwork as ‘F— you’ instead of his signature,” according to the complaint.
“As Briggs was leaving the jail, (Broderick) told Briggs that, going forward, he was going to depose Briggs for every case that he was involved in regardless of the seriousness of the case,” the complaint says.
Broderick resigned as an assistant city attorney last October, but the Herald Bulletin of Anderson reported last month that he has continued to represent the city in numerous cases. Anderson city attorney Tim Lanane, who also is minority leader of Indiana Senate Democrats, told the paper that retaining Broderick on the cases was in the city’s best interests.
Broderick’s criminal case gives rise to three disciplinary charges. The commission asserts violations of Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(b), committing a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer; Rule 8.4(d), conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice; and Rule 8.4(e), stating or implying an ability to improperly influence a government agency or official.
Broderick was admitted to practice in 2008 and has no prior disciplinary history. The discipline case is In the Matter of Evan Buck Broderick, 19S-DI-00476.
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