Costs Of Discipline

The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended an attorney for his failure to pay the costs of a disciplinary case.

Grantconnected.com reported on recent charges

A Marion attorney is facing a drug possession charge stemming from a summertime traffic stop.

Beau J. White, Marion, is facing charges of possession of cocaine and operating a motor vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance in person’s body after he was pulled over by the Indiana State Police officer for a traffic incident in July.

White was driving northbound on Interstate 69 just before 9 p.m. on July 29 near the Marion/Montpelier exit when ISP Officer Jeremy Perez witnessed White’s vehicle drift into the right shoulder, hitting the rumble strips, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by Perez. After White was pulled over, Perez said he said White was sweating heavily, had bloodshot eyes and blood and mucus around his nose and mouth area, though White denied using any narcotic drugs when asked, according to the affidavit.

A search of the vehicle found 0.03 grams of cocaine in a small cellophane wrapper in the vehicle, according to the affidavit. White was then taken to the Grant County Jail and a toxicology test was performed on him.

While at the jail, White was interviewed by Det. Sgt. Josh Zigler of the Grant County Sheriff’s Department. During the interview, White said he was using cocaine bought in Muncie while driving that day on July 29 and was “depressed and downtrodden” about family life and drug use and would sometimes drive to relieve stress, according to a statement filed by Zigler in Grant County Superior Court 3.

Though the incident occurred in July, a warrant for White’s arrest wasn’t issued until Nov. 9, nearly four months later. White was arrested on Nov. 10 and shortly released from jail after paying a $605 bond.

Grant County Prosecutor James Luttrell said the delay in arrest was due to his office waiting on results from the toxicology reports. As of Nov. 17, the results of the toxicology test still haven’t been released.

“It’s not unusual for the toxicology to take this long,” Luttrell said. “We decided we weren’t going to wait longer.”

On Monday Superior Court 3 Judge Warren Haas removed himself as the judge in the case, giving both the plaintiff and defendant seven days to agree on a special judge.

White has worked as a public defender in the past. The Indiana Supreme Court temporarily suspended White’s license for a month in 2012 after the court found him to be guilty of failing to help a client, failing to act promptly, failing to keep the client informed about the status of the case and failing to refund an unearned fee when terminated.

(Mike Frisch)