Weaver: Judge disclosure forms need to be more accessible
As a service to our readers, The Indiana Lawyer will gradually post all Indiana judges’ disclosure forms online over the next several months.
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
-
Green fees, fishing sponsorships among gifts to Indiana’s top judges, disclosure forms show
Some judges also reported earning outside compensation for everything from working as a stagehand at Pink and Taylor Swift concerts to serving as a board member for the Indianapolis Indians baseball team.
Read More -
Web Exclusive: Supreme Court in no hurry to find new attorney ethics director
With the search underway for only the third director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, one thing seems certain: The court will take its time finding a successor for retired leader G. Michael Witte.
Read More -
Calling it a career: Lawyer ethics director Witte retiring
After 39 years, G. Michael Witte, executive director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, is calling it a career — sort of.
Read More -
AG Hill suspended for 30 days with automatic reinstatement
Finding Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill guilty of misdemeanor battery and two related violations of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, the Indiana Supreme Court has ordered him to serve a 30-day suspension.
Read More
Articles
Indiana Ethics Commission approves waivers for 4 outgoing agency heads
Indiana’s Ethics Commission on Thursday unanimously approved post-employment waivers for four agency heads moving on from state government as Gov.-elect Mike Braun takes over. That includes David Rosenberg, president and CEO of the controversial Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Dickerson: Should lawyers disclose the use of AI legal assistants?
The line between human assistants and machines is dwindling as technology becomes increasingly sophisticated. As such, it will change how we comply with our ethical obligations.
Trump chooses loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws
President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, turning to a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.
Matt Gaetz meets privately with senators to shore up support as House Ethics decision looms
President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has launched an effort to personally secure his embattled nomination, meeting behind closed doors Wednesday with Republican senators who have questions about the sexual misconduct and other allegations against him.
Elon Musk says he and Trump have ‘mandate to delete’ regulations. Ethics laws could limit Musk role
In picking billionaire Elon Musk to be “our cost cutter” for the U.S. government, President-elect Donald Trump won’t be the first American president to empower a business tycoon to look for ways to dramatically cut federal regulations.
Indiana inspector general dismisses group’s ethics complaint against state elections chief
Indiana Inspector General David Cook has dismissed an ethics complaint lodged by the League of Women Voters in Indiana against Secretary of State Diego Morales—but suggested the group go to lawmakers to seek changes.
Biden unveils a proposal to establish term limits for the Supreme Court
President Joe Biden has unveiled a long-awaited proposal for changes at the U.S. Supreme Court, calling on Congress to establish term limits and an enforceable ethics code for the court’s nine justices. He’s also pressing lawmakers to ratify a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity.
Biden seriously considering proposals on Supreme Court term limits, ethics code, AP sources say
President Joe Biden is seriously considering proposals to establish term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, and an ethics code that would be enforceable under law amid growing concerns that the justices are not held accountable, according to three people briefed on the plans.
James J. Bell: Things to know about time machines, avoiding unworthy clients
There are times in the practice of law when a lawyer wishes he or she had a time machine. Those times can occur when the lawyer realizes that he or she should have never taken the case he or she is working on.
Roberts rejects Senate Democrats’ request to discuss Supreme Court ethics and Alito flag controversy
Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday declined an invitation to meet with Democratic senators to talk about Supreme Court ethics and the controversy over flags that flew outside homes owned by Justice Samuel Alito.
Justice Alito’s home flew flag upside down after Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ claims, report says
An upside-down American flag, a symbol associated with former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud, was displayed outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Bible-quoting Alabama chief justice sparks church-state debate in embryo ruling
When the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, its chief justice had a higher authority in mind.
Lawyers may face discipline for criticizing judge’s ruling in discrimination case
A father-daughter pair of lawyers in Florida may face disciplinary action for speaking out against a judge’s ruling that overturned a jury decision awarding $2.7 million to a Black doctor who alleged he was subjected to racial discrimination.
The Republican leading the probe of Hunter Biden has his own shell company and complicated friends
Rep. James Comer has 6 acres that he bought in 2015. He transferred his ownership to Farm Team Properties, a shell company, and his own finances and relationships have begun to draw notice as a formal impeachment inquiry begins into President Joe Biden.
With gambling legislation on pause, some push for reform
The leaders of the Statehouse’s dual Republican supermajorities have been clear: after recent gambling industry scandals involving former lawmakers, next year’s legislative session will include no expansion.
Senate Democrats authorize subpoenas in Supreme Court ethics probe as Republicans stage walkout
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to authorize subpoenas for two prominent conservatives who arranged luxury travel and other benefits for Supreme Court justices, but Republicans planned to object to the legitimacy of the action.
INBOX: Rokita lied under oath; he must be suspended
Attorney General Todd Rokita’s lack of insight into and his lack of any remorse about his prior misconduct and his resumption of misconduct the day the court approved the CA demonstrate that he is currently unfit to practice law in this state.
Bell: 3 things to know about ethics and office space
Remember when we used to make fun of “The Lincoln Lawyer” because he worked out of his car? Maybe we should not cast too many stones.
Supreme Court says it’s adopting a code of ethics, but it has no means of enforcement
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday adopted its first code of ethics, in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, but the code lacks a means of enforcement.