Disciplinary Actions

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission brings charges against attorneys who have violated the state’s rules for admission to the bar and Rules of Professional Conduct. The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications brings charges against judges, judicial officers, or judicial candidates for misconduct. Details of attorneys’ and judges’ actions for which they are being disciplined by the Supreme Court will be included unless they are not a matter of public record under the court’s rules.

Probation

Marion County attorney Jonathan T. Tempel was placed on probationary suspension, subject to JLAP monitoring, effective immediately, per a Sept. 6 order. Tempel pleaded guilty to misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Marion County in September 2018, his second OWI offense in about four years, following a property damage car crash. Chief Justice Loretta Rush dissented and would have rejected the agreed discipline, believing a period of active suspension and a longer term of probation are warranted given the endangerment involved in the Marion County criminal case. Costs are of the proceeding are assessed against Tempel.

Reprimand

Allen County attorney Kerry M. Hultquist was publicly reprimanded in an Aug. 12 order for failing to timely file a client’s appeal to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, leading to the dismissal of a client’s claim later filed by another attorney. Costs are of the proceeding are assessed against Hultquist.

Resignation

Marion County attorney Raymond Fairchild’s resignation from the bar was accepted in a Sept. 6 order. Fairchild was charged in July with Level 5 felony theft for allegedly taking more than $50,000 from the proceeds of a client’s settlement fund. He previously pleaded guilty to two counts of public indecency for exposing himself while driving by two buses carrying girls high school basketball teams. Costs of the proceeding are assessed against him.

Suspensions

Hamilton County attorney Edward A. Anania was suspended for 180 days with automatic reinstatement, beginning Sept. 5, per a July 25 order, for engaging in a dishonest and fraudulent representation of a client before and after the client fired him in a breach of contract action. The costs of the proceeding are assessed against Anania.

Former Johnson County Prosecutor Bradley D. Cooper was suspended Aug. 2, upon notice of his felony conviction in a domestic violence case. He pleaded guilty to Level 6 felony counts of identity deception and criminal confinement; Level 6 felony official misconduct (entered as a Class A misdemeanor); and Class A misdemeanor domestic battery. Cooper resigned as prosecutor simultaneously to his July sentencing.

St. Joseph County attorney Julie A. Dominiack’s March 21 suspension for noncooperation with the disciplinary process was converted to an indefinite suspension in an order issued July 25.

Marion County attorney Steven T. Fulk was suspended for noncooperation with the investigation of a grievance per an Aug. 22 order. Fulk is ordered to reimburse the commission $527.50 for the costs of prosecuting the proceeding.

Florida attorney Robert Wayne Gray was suspended for 30 days with automatic reinstatement, effective immediately, per a July 25 order. An order approving a conditional agreement for discipline said Gray failed to disclose to clients that his firm was pursuing patents under an agreement with another company that charged clients to develop, protect and market their inventions. Costs of the proceeding are assessed against him.

Delaware County attorney Michael P. Quirk was suspended for 180 days without automatic reinstatement, effective Oct. 3. An Aug. 22 order approving conditional agreement for discipline said Quirk failed to reimburse lienholders, obtain consent from clients with conflicts of interest and give notice of his drunken-driving convictions. Costs of the proceeding are assessed against Quirk.

Marion County attorney Brent Welke was suspended Sept. 10 for three years without automatic reinstatement, effective Oct. 22, for incompetently representing a client, improperly using a nonlawyer assistant and knowingly making false statements of material fact to the commission. Justice Steven David dissented, believing Welke should be disbarred. Costs of the proceeding are assessed against him. Story, Page 24.

Allen County attorney Cody R. Williams was suspended for failing to cooperate with the investigation of grievances in five disciplinary complaints per an order issued July 25. Williams is ordered to reimburse the commission $527.24 for the costs of prosecuting the proceeding in one of the cases, but the court chose not to impose fees in the others. Separately, an Aug. 26 order terminated, as of Aug. 23, Williams’ suspension for noncooperation in one of the five disciplinary actions pending against him.•