Lawyer charged with defrauding elderly pleads guilty
A former South Bend lawyer who was charged with scamming elderly investors has pleaded guilty to some charges in the case.
Discipline
Articles
AG Hill: Argument for ethics hearing panel ‘fatally flawed’
The briefing battle between Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill and the Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission has continued this week, with Hill arguing in new court filings that the commission’s attempts to convince the Supreme Court to proceed with the case consist of bootstrapping, red herrings and fatal flaws.
AG Hill’s attorney discipline case raises new questions
The disciplinary complaint against Hill raises new questions about the disciplinary process itself, including who can preside over the proceedings and what would happen if the state’s chief legal officer loses his law license, even temporarily. But those questions aside, ethics attorneys say Hill’s status as a prominent elected official shouldn’t have any bearing on the nuts and bolts of the discipline process.
Disciplinary Commission: AG Hill claiming he is above ethics rules
The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission has accused Attorney General Curtis Hill of seeking special treatment in the disciplinary proceedings brought against him, arguing in court filings that Hill’s case must go before a hearing panel to protect the public interest.
Suspended attorney to serve 6 months for bankruptcy fraud, embezzlement
A suspended Fort Wayne attorney will serve six months in jail and has been ordered to pay nearly $240,000 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to embezzlement and tax fraud charges stemming from personal and client bankruptcy proceedings.
Hamilton County magistrate judge suspended after arrest in meth sting
A Hamilton County magistrate judge has been suspended by the Indiana Supreme Court as he faces a felony methamphetamine possession charge and other counts after he allegedly bought meth from a police informant. The judicial officer also is accused of biting the thumb of an officer who tried to pry the bag of meth from the magistrate judge’s mouth.
South Bend attorney suspended for noncooperation
The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended a South Bend attorney from the practice of law after previously ordering her to show cause as to why she should not be immediately suspended for noncooperation with a disciplinary investigation against her.
Hill, Disciplinary Commission spar over hearing officer appointment
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is hitting back at the lawyer ethics charges filed against him this week, arguing the judicial branch is wading into political waters by possibly disciplining him for allegations of groping four women — claims he says were “unrelated to the practice of law.”
Credit time revocation bill moves to Holcomb’s desk
Community correction program directors caught between a rock and a hard place may get some breathing room if a bill that would allow the revocation of inmates’ credit time gets the governor’s signature.
Hill accusers ‘pleased’ Disciplinary Commission reviewing alleged sexual misconduct
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is facing formal ethics charges from the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, which filed a complaint against Hill on Tuesday over accusations of sexual misconduct made by four women. The attorney misconduct charges could impact Hill’s legal ability to continue serving as AG.
Ex-Trump campaign boss Manafort to be sentenced in tax fraud
When former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is sentenced for tax and bank fraud , U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III will likely issue the same lecture he gives to drug dealers and bank robbers.
Investigators: Indiana boy shot trooper dad over video games
Investigators say an 11-year-old northern Indiana boy shot and wounded his state-trooper father because he was upset that his parents took away his video games.
Lawyer reprimanded for unknowingly representing co-defendants in separate cases
The Indiana Supreme Court has publicly reprimanded a Terre Haute attorney who failed to realize he had agreed to separately represent two co-defendants, leading to his representation of both defendants in a matter in which one defendant wanted to testify against the other.
Longtime Warsaw attorney resigns amid misconduct allegations
A Warsaw attorney with nearly 50 years’ experience has resigned from the Indiana bar after facing an investigation by the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.
Decatur lawyer convicted of forgery, counterfeiting suspended again
A Decatur lawyer sentenced to nearly nine months for forgery and counterfeiting convictions and disciplined five separate times last year has again been indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for noncooperation. The Indiana Supreme Court indefinitely suspended Jill N. Holtzclaw on Thursday, effective immediately.
Supreme Court warns against city, town court judges assuming role of prosecutor
A word of discretion was offered to judicial officers Monday when Indiana Supreme Court justices condemned the impropriety of assuming a prosecutor’s duties, a message shared in a disciplinary opinion elaborating on the judicial ban of a former New Haven City Court judge.
Hendricks Judge Freese faces discipline charges
A Hendricks County judge and former leader of the Indiana Judges Association is facing disciplinary charges stemming from allegations that he appointed a friend as trustee of an estate case, then failed to take prompt action upon learning that the man was not fulfilling his duties and was possibly stealing from the trust.
Judge to DOC: Restore credit time for ‘unreasonable and arbitrary’ sanction
The Department of Correction must restore nearly six months of lost credit time to a Westville inmate after a federal judge determined the inmate’s disciplinary loss of credit time was “unreasonable and arbitrary.
Disciplinary Actions
See who has been disbarred or suspended during the most recent reporting period.
Plainfield attorney suspended with JLAP probation
A Plainfield attorney has been suspended for at least 180 days with two years of probation monitored by the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program after he accepted retainers from several clients but failed to adequately communicate with or appropriately advance their cases.