Indiana Prosecutor Took Inactive Status, But Kept On Working
An Indiana prosecutor asked the state bar to place his license on inactive status in 2005, but kept on working.
The state disciplinary commission alleges that Newton County Prosecutor Ed Barce filed more than 1,000 felony and misdemeanor cases in the three years his license was inactive, the Associated Press reports. He faces an October hearing.
Barce’s inactive status came to light in February when a judge learned of the problem and delayed a trial in which Barce was a special prosecutor, the story says. The judge later allowed the case to proceed, finding that no harm had been done. Barce has since reactivated his license.
Indiana University law professor Joel Schumm told AP that criminal convictions obtained while Barce’s license was inactive will probably stand. To overturn a conviction, a defendant would have to show the license problem affected the trial outcome.
The Indiana Constitution requires prosecutors to have law licenses before they take office, but says nothing about license status while in office, according to AP. In a 1998 case, the Indiana Supreme Court allowed a conviction to stand even though an out-of-state lawyer without a valid license helped handle a case with other prosecutors.
