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Sunday, August 23, 2009
Ind. Courts - More on: Former Indiana attorney admits to 24 bank robberies
Updating this ILB entry from July 22, 2006, Stephanie Gattman has this very long story today in the Elkhart Truth. Some quotes:
As a U.S. Marine, Clifton Bruce Davidson Jr. pledged to be "Always Faithful."As an officer with the Elkhart Police Department from 1988 to 1995, he was trained to "Protect and Serve."
When he passed the Indiana bar exam, he was expected to uphold the highest ethical standards and to represent his clients' interests before his own.
But on a sunny, 70-degree day in November 2003, Davidson walked into a bank in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati, gave the teller a note and demanded money. It was about 3 in the afternoon.
The former Marine, police officer and attorney -- the man who was trained to uphold and defend the law -- robbed the first of 38 banks. * * *
Davidson started law school at the Indiana University Indianapolis School of Law in 1997, graduating in 2000.
He became an attorney because he saw how the system worked in his case with the city. "I thought I could make a difference," he said. "But it didn't work out that way."
He practiced plaintiff employment law in the Indianapolis area.
He was miserable, he said, and consumed by the pressure. "It got to be where I'd wake up in the middle of the night with the bed soaked with sweat. My doctor told me it was anxiety attacks. It was hell."
Davidson gave up and walked away from his law practice.
The depression was so bad that he couldn't even muster enough energy to transfer his cases to another attorney. "When you are so depressed that you are struggling to get yourself up off a couch, it's 20 times harder to transfer a hundred complicated legal cases. Many times it can't be done," Davidson said.
In 2004, Davidson was disbarred for six counts of attorney misconduct by the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission for accepting retainer and filing fees from clients, taking little or no action on their behalf and not responding to inquiries about their cases. He failed to answer or appear for the complaint.
He also filed for personal and business Chapter 7 bankruptcy in federal court in 2004 and had several financial-related cases filed against him in Hamilton and Marion county courts. The bankruptcy was discharged in March 2005.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 23, 2009 11:42 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts