Disciplinary Actions 08/05/20
Read who has resigned, been placed on probation or suspended from the practice of law in Indiana during the most recent reporting period.
Lake County
Articles
Federal marshals arrest suspect in Indiana double-slaying
A man wanted in the fatal shootings of a Gary police officer’s son and another man was apprehended in California by federal marshals after he tossed a gun during a foot chase, officials said.
Merrillville attorney’s discipline converted to indefinite suspension
Indiana Supreme Court justices have indefinitely suspended a Lake County lawyer who was suspended earlier this year for failing to cooperate with the disciplinary commission concerning a grievance against him.
State reports all-time daily high in new COVID-19 cases
The Indiana State Department of Health on Thursday reported 954 new COVID-19 cases, an all-time daily high for positive cases.
Indiana’s second-largest county latest to adopt mask mandate
Officials in Indiana’s second-largest county and one of the largest Indianapolis suburbs have adopted face mask mandates for residents and businesses in an attempt to slow the coronavirus spread.
Crown Point, Chesterton attorneys get stayed suspensions for attorney misconduct
Two Northern Indiana attorneys have received stayed suspensions stemming from their individual attorney misconduct, the Indiana Supreme Court ordered on Thursday. Both attorneys acknowledged that they mismanaged trust accounts and commingled client funds.
Indiana passes 50K COVID-19 cases as daily count hits 2-month high
Indiana surpassed 50,000 reported cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, the Indiana Department of Health reported, as the daily count of reported cases hit a two-month high.
SCOTUS denies cert petition against South Bend abortion clinic
U.S. Supreme Court justices rejected a third Indiana abortion case on Thursday, refusing to hear a petition filed against an embattled South Bend abortion clinic that was permitted by a federal judge to open last summer.
Molester, 62, loses appeal claiming state didn’t prove he was at least 21
Common sense doomed a 62-year-old man’s appeal of his child molesting conviction Thursday in which he argued the state had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was at least 21 years old.
Supreme Court permits Lake County jury trial to start
A civil jury trial is underway in Lake County after the Indiana Supreme Court granted a request to hold a two-day trial starting Wednesday – the first in an Indiana trial court since the suspension of in-person court proceedings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Justices reinstate 45-year sentence despite trial court sentencing comments
The Indiana Supreme Court has reinstated a 45-year sentence against a man convicted in a point-blank shooting in northern Indiana, overturning a Court of Appeals decision that had reduced the sentence.
$479K judgment against Crown Point grocer in slip-and-fall case upheld
A jury verdict for a woman who was seriously injured in a fall on a snow-covered sidewalk outside a Crown Point grocery store was upheld Friday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Bittersweet memories for Valparaiso Law School alums
Before the signs were taken down and the remnants of the past 140 years were put into an archive, Nadia Wardrip took her 2-year-old daughter to Valparaiso Law School at the end of May to snap a couple of photos. The Lake County deputy prosecutor had spent 12 hours a day, six days a week at the law school so she could become a prosecutor, as she had dreamed of doing since high school. Going back one last time helped her explain to her little girl how she became who she is.
Prosecutor: Security guard, patient killed by Lake County hospital guard
A retired sheriff’s deputy and psychiatric patient at a northwest Indiana hospital who were involved in a struggle were both killed when another security guard opened fired on the patient, authorities said Tuesday.
Justices make Lake County judge pro tem appointments due to jurist’s health
Lake Superior Court Judge Clarence D. Murray will temporarily step down from his seat on the bench after informing the court that he would be unable to perform the duties of his office due to health reasons.
Lake County judges join call to reaffirm principles of justice, equality
The presiding judges of the Lake Circuit and Superior Courts have issued a statement against racism and in support of due process and equal protection.
Patient fatally shot after killing Munster hospital guard
A psychiatric patient disarmed and fatally shot a retired police officer at a northwest Indiana hospital early Tuesday before another retired officer working security at the hospital fatally shot the patient, a sheriff said.
COA rules for E. Chicago families against state agencies in lead exposure case
Hundreds of families who were unknowingly exposed for years to high levels of lead in Northern Indiana have secured a victory against state and local entities after the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the latter’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.
Gary to establish a police reform commission
Elected Gary officials are planning to reexamine how the city’s police department operates after George Floyd’s death energized a movement and pushed for nationwide calls for reform.
Web Exclusive: Retired attorney’s presidential button collection tops 1,000 pins
Retired Krieg DeVault partner Calvin Bellamy remembers exactly when he got his first presidential pin. “I know specifically – 1956. My father ran Memorial Day parades in Hammond for many years,” he recalled. That day sparked a fascination and hobby that Bellamy has cherished for the past 64 years.