Impassioned Plea Falls On Deaf Ears

The Indiana Supreme Court has disbarred an attorney based on these findings

Respondent was the elected Clerk-Treasurer of the Town of Warren Park. Over the span of several months in 2014, Respondent stole $20,800 from the Town by writing dozens of checks payable to himself. Respondent was charged with theft and official misconduct, both Class D felonies, and later pled guilty as charged. Respondent has been under an order of interim suspension since October 7, 2015, as a result of his felony convictions. See Matter of Bean, 53 N.E.3d 402 (Ind. 2015).

The Commission charged Respondent with violating Indiana Professional Conduct Rule 8.4(b) by committing criminal acts that reflect adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer. Following a hearing, the hearing officer filed his report to this Court on June 14, 2016, concluding that Respondent violated Rule 8.4(b) as charged and recommending that Respondent be disbarred.

The court takes a dim view of criminal conduct by a public official

As we have observed before, criminal action by an attorney in public office “strikes at the very heart of public trust in our institutions of government and the legal profession.” Matter of White, 54 N.E.3d 993, 994 (Ind. 2016) (quoting Matter of Gutman, 599 N.E.2d 604, 609 (Ind. 1992)). Such misconduct consistently has resulted in disbarment or a substantial period of suspension without automatic reinstatement. See, e.g., Matter of Philpot, 31 N.E.3d 468 (Ind. 2015) (following an interim suspension of over two years, suspending an elected county clerk convicted of theft and mail fraud for an additional four years without automatic reinstatement); Matter of Hughes, 640 N.E.2d 1065 (Ind. 1994) (disbarring a city court judge convicted of theft and official misconduct); Matter of Willardo, 493 N.E.2d 466 (Ind. 1986) (disbarring an elected coroner convicted of theft for fraudulently diverting county funds into his campaign account).

We acknowledge Respondent’s acceptance of responsibility, his efforts to address the ongoing gambling addiction underlying his misconduct, and his impassioned plea during proceedings before the hearing officer for a sanction short of disbarment. However, the seriousness of Respondent’s misconduct, and Respondent’s history of attorney and judicial discipline (the latter of which, significantly, also included willful misconduct in office), compel us to agree with the hearing officer that disbarment is warranted in this case.

The judicial discipline order is linked here. (Mike Frisch )