Disciplinary Actions
Find out which Indiana lawyers recently have been placed on probation, suspended and cleared in disciplinary cases.
Indiana Supreme Court
Articles
Love of litigation: Slaughter recalls how writing led him to the bench
Justice Geoffrey Slaughter thought he’d be a transactional lawyer. But then he discovered litigation. The justice recently sat down with Indiana Lawyer to discuss his time on the bench, the latest installment in IL’s Meet the Justices series.
Defense attorneys feud over who represents death penalty defendant in officer’s shooting
Defense attorneys representing Jason Brown, an Indianapolis man facing the death penalty for allegedly killing a police officer, are feuding with his appointed counsel, raising the question again of when a defendant’s right to counsel ends.
Justices to consider ‘de facto life sentence’ against teen convicted of murder
Indiana Supreme Court justices will consider arguments this week in a teen murder case involving a question of whether the boy was denied the effective assistance of counsel such that he should receive a rehearing on his 181-year sentence.
Justices publish dissent to jury admonishment transfer denial
A split Indiana Supreme Court has denied transfer to a case disputing exactly how many times a trial court is required to give admonishments to a jury, but two justices published a dissent to that decision.
COA tosses belated probation revocation appeal
Indiana Supreme Court rulings do not permit a belated appeal of a probation revocation, the Indiana Court of Appeals held in dismissing a man’s appeal in such a case Thursday.
Justices deny transfer to 11 cases, rule in juvenile counsel dispute
The Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear all but one of a dozen cases requesting to be heard last week. The justices denied 11 petitions, including one denial in a sentencing appeal resulting from a rare 2-2 deadlock.
Supreme Court creates new ‘access to court records’ rules
The Indiana Supreme has created the Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records to replace several portions of Administrative Rule 9. The changes are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
Justices accept certified question on statute of repose exception
The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to provide clarification on whether the Indiana Products Liability Act’s statute of repose may apply to a judicially created exception to the rule.
Dissenting judge: Defense lawyer ‘wholly failed’ in child molest case
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld denial of a convicted child molester’s post-conviction relief petition Thursday, but a dissenting judge assailed the representation by a defense attorney who he said “took a fatalistic approach to the trial and wholly failed to challenge any testimony by any State witness.”
New Albany lawyer agrees to probation, will pay $15K for shoddy accounting
A southern Indiana lawyer who for a decade mismanaged his firm’s trust accounts has agreed to a probationary period of at least three years, staying a nearly six-month suspension, under terms of an attorney discipline agreement approved Wednesday by the Indiana Supreme Court. The attorney also agreed to pay more than $15,000 in costs to the disciplinary commission and court.
Jacobs apologizes for Indianapolis shooting, says he ‘nearly lost’ everything
As he prepares to begin a 30-day, unpaid suspension, Clark Circuit Judge Bradley Jacobs is publicly apologizing for the first time for a night of drinking that led to him being critically wounded in a downtown Indianapolis shooting.
Former bar exam leader offers tips as Indiana considers changes
As the Indiana legal profession re-evaluates its bar exam in light of slumping pass rates, a leader in bar examinations and bar admissions offered some insight into testing and provided some advice, as well as some warnings, about making changes.
‘Incredibly lucky breaks’: Massa recalls going from journalist to justice
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Massa didn’t follow a traditional path into the law, but he says a series of “incredibly lucky breaks” propelled him forward in the profession.
Help renewed for Hoosiers facing loss of their home
The Indiana Supreme Court is working to help troubled homebuyers, and possibly prevent another flood of empty houses, by relaunching the Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance Project. A $115,000 grant from the Indiana Bar Foundation will provide funding to pay for facilitators to work with borrowers and lenders to try to get them to reach an agreement that will avert a foreclosure.
Stafford: Justices can’t kick Indiana’s civil forfeiture addiction
The term “excessive fine” is understandable. Unless you are a member of the Indiana Supreme Court. Then, in the context of civil asset forfeiture, the term becomes an enigma to be parsed in three dozen pages of ridiculous legal logic that even one of the five justices confessed he could not comprehend.
Parrish: Students find clerkships in smaller counties rewarding
This summer’s Rural Justice Initiativesought to expose students who are committed to public service to different facets of rural and smaller-city practice while helping trial court judges with their heavy workloads in counties where that help is needed most. The goal was to underscore to students the benefits of clerking after graduation, to help improve access to courts and expand legal services, and to inspire some students to consider pursuing careers in rural Indiana.
Justices answer juvenile ineffective assistance of counsel question
Indiana Supreme Court justices have affirmed the placement of a teenage boy in the Indiana Department of Correction, finding he was not provided ineffective assistance of counsel.
Justices steer defective dump-truck suit back to trial court
A lawsuit alleging an Indianapolis manufacturer delivered dozens of defective dump trucks in 2005 has taken a U-turn back to the trial court after the Indiana Supreme Court found it could not grant summary judgment sought by the truck builder in litigation brought against it by the truck buyers.
Judges involved in Indianapolis shooting suspended without pay
The three judges involved in a night of drinking that ended in gunfire in downtown Indianapolis have each been suspended without pay from their southern Indiana benches. The Indiana Supreme Court order issued Tuesday marks the conclusion of the judicial discipline cases against the judges.