Legal Ethics
Moonlighting Prosecutor Must Repay $18K, Faces Investigation
Posted Nov 13, 2008, 03:11 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A prosecutor in Muncie, Ind., who moonlighted as a lawyer for a drug task force and was apparently paid attorney fees in drug cases involving confidential civil forfeiture agreements, must repay $18,395 in legal fees, a Delaware Circuit Court judge has ruled.
Plus, prosecutor Mark McKinney also faces possible criminal investigation by a special prosecutor and an attorney misconduct complaint before the Indiana Supreme Court disciplinary commission concerning his work for the Muncie-Delaware County Drug Task Force, reports the Star Press.
"McKinney was paid well over $100,000 in attorney fees on forfeiture cases over the past decade," the newspaper writes.
Full-time prosecutors are prohibited by state law from having a civil law practice.