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Sunday, March 21, 2010

Ind. Courts - "Elkhart: Local attorney's law license revoked for misconduct "

Justin Leighty reported in the March 17, 2010 Elkhart Truth:

The Indiana Supreme Court revoked a local attorney's law license after he admitted to neglecting clients after courts ordered him to represent the people on appeals.

Michael Greene "admits to six counts of misconduct from 2005 through 2007 in cases in which a trial court appointed (him) to represent criminal defendants in appeals," the court wrote in its disciplinary ruling March 11.

Greene "then neglected the appeals, missed deadlines, and failed to respond to the clients' repeated requests for information about the appeals. He continued to accept appointments and failed to withdraw from cases after he knew he was having great difficulty completing appeals assigned to him," wrote Chief Justice Randall Shepard. In one case, Shepard wrote, Greene "failed to respond to a court order to respond to his client's motion to produce the client's file."

Greene mishandled appeals for Robert Storey, Randy Cobb, Donald Snover and Freddie McKnight, according to the Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.

They filed the complaint in 2007, and Greene admitted to the counts in response.

It took more than two years before Greene and his attorney reached an agreement with the disciplinary commission on the punishment. While the disciplinary action was pending, Greene stopped working for the Elkhart County Public Defender's office.

The Supreme Court suspended Greene from the practice of law. He can ask to be reinstated in late October, but has to pay the costs of the disciplinary action.

Here is the March 11, 2010 Supreme Court order.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 21, 2010 01:32 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts