Board fires South Bend officer involved in fatal crash
A public safety board has voted to fire a South Bend police officer who was involved in a fatal car crash while on duty.
Discipline
Articles
Professor: Regulation of lawyer speech undermines judiciary
Legal professionals work within the Rules of Professional Conduct, so they don’t want to make any comments that might be perceived as unduly critical of others in the profession — a profession built largely on respect and civility. But according to an Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law professor, the unease surrounding Rule 8.2(a) is not a matter of respect, but rather a matter of lawyer fear.
Ice Miller attorney faces discipline in Park Tudor sex abuse case
A prominent Indianapolis employment attorney is facing a disciplinary complaint for his involvement in the botched investigation of a former Park Tudor basketball coach who later was convicted of coercing a student into exchanging sexually explicit images and texts. Ice Miller LLP partner Michael Blickman, 65, is accused of possessing and copying child pornography, failing to immediately report child abuse and other ethical rule violations.
Valpo attorney suspended for failing to refund unperformed work
A Valparaiso attorney who neglected a client’s appeal and failed to refund a fee paid for his unperformed service has been suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for 90 days and cannot be reinstated until he pays full restitution.
Supreme Court accepts resignation, imposes suspension
The Indiana Supreme Court has accepted the resignation of a Hoosier attorney who faced multiple felony drunken-driving counts. Justices also ordered reciprocal discipline for another lawyer who was removed from the practice of law by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Florida-based attorney disbarred for 12 rule violations
A Florida-based attorney who was found to have violated a dozen of Indiana’s professional conduct rules has lost his Indiana law license, effective immediately. The Indiana Supreme Court found the lawyer’s dishonesty and neglect of cases had harmed clients and placed himself and others in legal peril.
Southern District proposes amended discipline rules
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is seeking public comment on a proposed amendment that would completely reframe its current discipline enforcement rules.
Disciplinary Actions
Read who has been found in contempt, reinstated, reprimanded and suspended in the most recent reporting period.
Indy attorney ordered to pay $500 for practicing while suspended
An Indianapolis attorney who has been suspended from the practice of law since 2009 has been ordered to pay a $500 fine for continuing to offer legal services despite her suspension.
Evansville attorney disciplined for lack of diligence
The Indiana Supreme Court privately reprimanded an Evansville attorney Friday after he failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in communicating with clients whose homestead was burned in an act of vandalism that appeared to be racially motivated.
Disciplinary Actions
Read who has been suspended from the practice of law in the latest reporting period.
JLAP violation reinstates Indy attorney’s suspension
An Indianapolis attorney who violated the terms of her Supreme Court-imposed probation must now serve the full length of her suspended discipline after failing to comply with her Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement.
Ex-prosecutor who withheld recanted testimony suspended
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended a former Porter County deputy prosecutor from the practice of law for 18 months for withholding from the defense evidence that an alleged victim said he had been coached to lie and had recanted allegations of child molestation.
Attorney who neglected med mal case suspended for year
An Indianapolis attorney currently under an indefinite suspension for failing to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation has now been suspended for one year after neglecting an elderly client’s medical malpractice case, leading to its dismissal.
Danville attorney suspended for 3 years after 10 rules violations
A Danville attorney who committed 10 acts of misconduct – including neglecting clients, advertising misleading information, mismanaging a trust account, lying and failing to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation –has been suspended from the practice of law for three years.
Disciplinary Actions — 8/22/2018
Read who’s been reprimanded and suspended in the most recent reporting period.
Attorney guilty of felony OWI avoids suspension, gets JLAP monitoring
An Indianapolis attorney with two operating while intoxicated convictions in as many years has received a stayed suspension of her law license from a majority of the Indiana Supreme Court, which ordered the attorney to participate in Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring.
Knox County judge reprimanded for tossing friend’s case
A Knox Superior Court judge had been publicly reprimand for reinstating a close friend’s suspended driver’s license and suggesting a deputy prosecutor dismiss the case, according to an Indiana Supreme Court order issued Friday.
Indy attorney suspended, ordered to participate in JLAP services
An Indianapolis attorney who was recently diagnosed with a mental health condition has been suspended from the practice of law and must participate in recovery services with the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.
Justices to suspended attorney: Pay fine or face prison
The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered a Kokomo attorney who is already suspended to pay a fine or face a 15-day prison sentence after he was found in contempt for practicing law while suspended. The court said the lawyer twice contacted opposing counsel who responded by noting his suspension.