Indiana

Lawyer loses part-time judge job, has license suspended over ‘romantic’ conduct with jailed client

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…

Apr 19, 2013 7:10 PM CDT

Lawyer who said he helped client buy marijuana to discredit informant loses license for 9 months

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…

Apr 19, 2013 3:45 PM CDT

Rejected client bit law firm intake worker before partner prevailed in office fistfight, police say

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…

Apr 16, 2013 8:30 PM CDT

Lawyer, who’s also a part-time judge, faces judicial discipline case over conduct with jailed client

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,…

Feb 25, 2013 10:10 PM CST

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…

Feb 4, 2013 2:14 PM CST

Ex-lawyer accused of stealing $4.5M from clients is now represented by public defender

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…

Jan 25, 2013 6:48 PM CST

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…

Jan 24, 2013 2:18 PM CST

Boy Who Disappeared in 1994 Is Found Alive and Well

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.,…

Jan 11, 2013 10:54 PM CST

Trial Lawyer Convicted with 6 Others in ‘Outlaw Biker’ Federal Racketeering Case

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…

Dec 11, 2012 6:25 PM CST

Sixth Grader Sentenced in Adult Court for Murder Conspiracy Seeks Juvenile Court Do-Over

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…

Oct 31, 2012 1:05 PM CDT

Girls’ Hoops to Get Equal Prime-Time Play in Southeast Indiana; 7th Circuit Refused to Toss Case

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) earlier…

Oct 18, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Indiana’s Sex Offender Registry Violates Registrants’ Due Process Rights, Appeals Court Says

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 work…

Aug 30, 2012 10:30 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Picked Up Client’s Kids at School, Drove Them Around Aimlessly, Gets 6-Month Suspension

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…

Aug 7, 2012 10:38 AM CDT

Ind. Supreme Court Affirms Life-Without-Parole 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…

Aug 2, 2012 4:50 PM CDT

Lawyer Charged in Own Shooting; Authorities Say He Staged Apparent Attack for Unknown Reason

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…

Jul 18, 2012 10:05 PM CDT