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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Ind. Courts - Missing South Bend lawyer leaves clients angry, baffled

"Missing lawyer leaves clients angry, baffled: Judges have reassigned some of Hosinski's cases" is the headline to a story by Jeff Parrott in the South Bend Tribune. Some quotes:

SOUTH BEND -- Paul and Linda Dyer don't know Mark Harvey, but they and several others around town have a few things in common with him.

They each face criminal charges in St. Joseph County courts, paid attorney John Hosinski to represent them, and have been unable to find him.

Hosinski, who served on the South Bend Common Council from 1996-2000 and whose father, the late William Hosinski, was a highly regarded judge from 1972-86, has repeatedly failed to appear in court recently on behalf of an undetermined number of clients, according to court records. * * *

Hosinski also can no longer be found at the office he shared with attorney Jeff Majerek on the eighth floor of the JMS Building downtown. The building's owners, Donna and John Freidline, evicted Hosinski Dec. 30 for nonpayment of rent, according to a lawsuit they filed in Superior Court.

A sign posted on the suite's window urges visitors: "DO NOT BOTHER OTHER TENANTS IN THE BUILDING."

Occupants of nearby offices told The Tribune that numerous Hosinski clients have stepped into their offices looking for him. * * *

It is unclear how many people Hosinki has left without attorneys in court hearings during his absence. The county clerk's office has no accurate way of identifying all of the cases an attorney is handling.

Judges have reassigned a few of Hosinski's cases to attorney Phillip Skodinski, who handles some cases as a court-appointed public defender. Skodinski said he did not know where Hosinski was. * * *

The Tribune was unable to locate Hosinski to comment for this story. When telephoned Tuesday, Paul Hosinski, his brother, declined The Tribune's request for an interview. He said he would pass a message on to his brother to return a reporter's call, but John Hosinski had failed to do so by the Tribune's deadline.

"He has assigned his cases to two attorneys," said Paul Hosinski, declining to elaborate. "I know what's going on but I'm not at liberty to say."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 19, 2006 07:19 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts