http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-25T06:21:46-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/circulating_law_student_interns_horror-film_clip_gets_ex-partner_suspended_/ Updated: A former partner of a well-known Indiana law firm has been suspended from practice for three years for persuading his paralegal to impersonate that firm's managing partner and send an email attaching a horror-film clip in which a new hire seemingly was onscreen in a state of undress. Arthur… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Labor & Employment, Law Firms, Associates, Midsize Firm, Paralegals, Partners, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Indiana Mon, 20 May 2013 11:49:06 -0500 44269.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_say_assets_of_ex-lawyer_charged_in_4.5m_client_theft_are_missing_ask_j/ Released on bond as he awaits trial in a federal wire-fraud case related to his alleged theft of $4.5 million in client funds, former Indianapolis lawyer William F. Conour is now accused of having violated bond conditions by disposing of personal assets without court approval. A new inventory ordered last… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, 7th Circuit Court, States, Indiana Wed, 08 May 2013 14:27:04 -0500 44093.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_loses_part-time_judge_job_has_license_suspended_over_romantic_conduc/ A part-time Indiana judge who also practices law has resolved a judicial discipline case over her admitted "improper romantic relationship” with a 26-year-old client in state prison. Lisa Traylor-Wolff has been permanently banned from serving as a judge and has had her law license suspended by the state supreme court… Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, Indiana Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:10:45 -0500 43833.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_who_tried_to_help_client_discredit_informant_via_private_drug_sting_/ What attorney David Schalk describes as an attempt to help a client by discrediting an informant has backfired badly. Convicted in 2009 of misdemeanor attempted possession of marijuana as a result of trying to set the informant up in a private drug sting, Schalk has now had his law license… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Indiana Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:45:01 -0500 43823.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/rejected_client_bit_law_firm_intake_worker_before_partner_broke_up_office/ Corrected: Rejected for representation by an Indianapolis law firm after completing an intake form, a would-be client allegedly became furious Monday afternoon and started a fistfight when the unidentified firm refused to return his paperwork. Guillermo Trujillo had been assured by law office manager William Gutierrez that he would not… Criminal Justice, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, States, Indiana Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:30:49 -0500 43754.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/appellate_lawyer_a_part-time_judge_faces_judicial_discipline_case_re_work_w/ A part-time Indiana judge and practicing attorney is facing a disciplinary case concerning her recent work as a public defender. While representing an unidentified imprisoned client on appeal, Lisa Traylor-Wolff became sexually involved with the man and participated in inappropriate behavior in a visiting room at the Miami Correctional Facility,… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, Indiana Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:10:22 -0600 42998.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/mistaken_release_of_convicted_murderer_blamed_on_paperwork_error/ Updated: The Cook County Jail in Chicago mistakenly released an Indiana man who was in court last week to appear on local armed violence and drug charges. Instead of returning to jail after those charges were dismissed on Wednesday, Steven Robbins was released. Robbins was supposed to be in an… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Criminal Procedure, States, Illinois, Indiana Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:14:59 -0600 42667.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-lawyer/ A once-prominent personal injury attorney in Indiana is now represented by a public defender as he awaits trial in a federal wire fraud case in which he has been accused of stealing $4.5 million from 25 clients. William F. Conour, 65, told a federal judge at a hearing Friday in… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, 7th Circuit Court, States, Indiana Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:48:43 -0600 42558.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/facebook_ban_for_sex_offenders_is_overturned_by_7th_circuit/ A federal appeals court has overturned an Indiana law that bars most registered sex offenders from using social media that is accessed by minors. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law “broadly prohibits substantial protected speech rather than specifically targeting the evil of improper communications to… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Internet Law, 7th Circuit Court, States, Indiana Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:18:23 -0600 42531.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/indiana_boy_who_disappeared_in_1994_is_found/ A 5-year-old Indiana boy who disappeared 19 years ago has been found living under an assumed name in Minnesota. Richard Wayne Landers Jr., who apparently was abducted from the Wolcottville, Ind., home where he lived since birth with his paternal grandparents in 1994, was tracked down in Long Prarie, Minn.,… Criminal Justice, Family Law, States, Indiana, Minnesota Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:54:55 -0600 42319.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-lawyer_for_club_convicted_with_6_others_in_outlaw_biker_gang_racketeerin/ A trial lawyer in Gary, Ind., has been convicted of conspiracy, along with six co-defendants, in a federal racketeering case in St. Louis over their alleged activities in what prosecutors called an "outlaw biker" gang. Jerry Peteet, 49, who previously served as the lawyer for the Wheels of Soul motorcycle… Criminal Justice, 7th Circuit Court, States, Indiana Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:25:56 -0600 41997.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sixth_grader_sentenced_in_adult_court_for_murder_conspiracy_seeks_juvenile_/ Lawyers for an Indiana youth sentenced at age 12 in adult court for a murder conspiracy are asking a state appeals court to send the case back to juvenile court for a new hearing. Paul Henry Gingerich was a sixth-grader when he was accused of helping kill a friend’s stepfather… Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Criminal Procedure, States, Indiana Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:05:03 -0500 41367.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/girls_hoops_to_get_equal_prime-time_play_in_southeast_indiana_7th_circuit_r/ Girls who play basketball at 10 high schools in Southeast Indiana will play as many “prime-time” games as the boys because of a consent decree in a Title IX lawsuit. Lawyer William Groth, who represented plaintiff Amber Parker, says the case sets a precedent because of a ruling (PDF)… Civil Rights, Education Law, Entertainment & Sports Law, 7th Circuit Court, States, Indiana Thu, 18 Oct 2012 06:00:02 -0500 41191.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/indianas_sex_offender_registry_violates_registrants_due_process_rights_appe/ Indiana's sex and violent offender registry violates some registrants' due process rights because it doesn't give them a chance to fix any mistakes in the information, a federal appeals court has held. In a ruling (PDF) Tuesday, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals encouraged the parties to… Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Judiciary, 7th Circuit Court, States, Indiana Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:30:21 -0500 40479.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_who_picked_up_clients_kids_at_school_drove_them_around_aimlessly_get/ An Indiana lawyer has been suspended for six months and will have to apply for reinstatement following a December 2008 incident in which she frightened the mother of two children by picking them up at their elementary school on behalf of their father, her client in a matrimonial case. Although… Family Law, Legal Ethics, States, Indiana Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:38:37 -0500 40056.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ind._supreme_court_affirms_lwop_sentence_for_juvenile_killer/ The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld a life sentence without parole for a teenager who strangled his little brother, dumped the boy's body in a park and went on with his life "as if nothing was out of the ordinary," according to the justices' ruling. Andrew Conley was 17 in… Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Judiciary, States, Indiana Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:50:40 -0500 39982.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_charged_in_own_shooting_authorities_say_he_staged_apparent_attack_fo/ A practicing Indiana lawyer has been criminally charged in his own shooting, which authorities say he staged last month for an unknown reason. Peter Raventos, 43, had claimed that he was shot by an unknown assailant on June 25 at McCormick’s Creek State Park. After being treated at a local… Criminal Justice, States, Indiana Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:05:03 -0500 39774.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/woman_charged_with_killing_infant_due_to_suicide_attempt_while_pregnant_is_/ A Chinese immigrant jailed in Indiana for over a year on charges that she killed her viable fetus by eating rat poison in a suicide attempt while pregnant has lost her bid to have the controversial criminal case dismissed by the state supreme court. However, in letting stand a prior… Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Family Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Indiana Fri, 18 May 2012 17:39:23 -0500 38871.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ind._attorney_gets_8-year_max_in_673k_client_theft_case/ An Indianapolis attorney and accountant has been sentenced to the 8-year maximum prison term after pleading guilty to two counts of theft from clients. Prosecutors in the Marion County case said Stacy H. Sheedy, 51, had drained a $501,000 family trust for which she was responsible since 2007 of all… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, States, Indiana Thu, 03 May 2012 16:20:08 -0500 38629.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/shots_fired_into_home_of_2nd_faegre_daniels_corporate_lawyer_firm_is_extrem/ Police in Fort Wayne, Ind., are investigating whether there is any connection between a shooting early Tuesday into the home of a Faegre Baker Daniels corporate associate and the unsolved shooting of a corporate partner of the law firm in his own Fort Wayne… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, Law Firms, Associates, Midsize Firm, Partners, States, Indiana Tue, 01 May 2012 16:47:42 -0500 38588.abajournal.com