Tippecanoe And Suspended Too

A 60-day suspension has been ordered by the Indiana Supreme Court for misconduct in a paternity action filed in Tippecanoe County

Mother later hired Respondent, who filed a motion for change of venue to Lake County, where Mother resided. The court denied the motion. In several written communications between August 7, 2012 and April 12, 2013, Respondent accused Father’s counsel of having arranged venue in Tippecanoe County by fraud, deceit, and trickery; of intentionally violating Mother’s rights as a disabled person in refusing to transfer venue to Lake County; and in engaging in other unprofessional and unethical conduct. Respondent also wrote to Father’s counsel, “[y]our possibly homophobic, racist, sexist clients should not be using the Courts to further that agenda.” In some of these communications, Respondent threatened to file a disciplinary complaint against Father’s counsel unless counsel would accede to Respondent’s demands that venue be transferred to Lake County. Respondent also accused Father of having stolen money from his client and proposed that Respondent and Mother would not press criminal charges if opposing counsel would agree that the paternity case should be transferred to Lake County.

In April 2013, Respondent filed a motion to correct error in the paternity action with respect to the denial of Mother’s motion for change of venue to Lake County. In the motion to correct error, Respondent accused the judge of taking a “stubbornly injudicious attitude” toward the court proceeding, and further accused the judge of “taking off on detours and frolics that ignore the fact that there are laws in Indiana that the court is supposed to follow and uphold.” Respondent withdrew his appearance in the paternity case shortly thereafter.

The hearing officer found a lack of remorse in aggravation and lack of prior discipline. as mitigation. (Mike Frisch)