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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Ind. Courts - Still more on: Evansville attorney cleared in meth case

In a valuable continuing series of stories on young Evansville attorneys with methamphetamine addictions, Kate Braser of the Evansville Courier & Press has two reports today.

The first updates this ILB entry from Monday, Nov. 10th, quoting from a C&P story of Brad Happe's hopes to restart law practice. Today's story reports:

A jury has found Evansville attorney Brad Happe not guilty of two methamphetamine-related charges, but the question of whether his license will be reinstated is far from solved.

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission has the exclusive power to take action against a lawyer's license and is responsible for investigating and prosecuting claims of misconduct against lawyers licensed to practice in Indiana. * * *

While Evansville attorney Teresa Perry's license was not suspended by the commission over meth-related charges, Perry said she agreed not to practice law at least until her case is finished.

But Happe was issued an interim suspension of his license in June, "until further order of the court."

That decision came after two-thirds of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission voted Happe could pose a threat to his clients based upon his involvement with meth.

[Donald Lundberg, executive secretary of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission] explained while the standard of proof juries must consider in a criminal case is "beyond a reasonable doubt," the disciplinary commission's standard in a discipline case is "clear and convincing evidence."

"It is relatively uncommon for a lawyer to have an interim suspension from practice in the absence of conviction of a felony," he said.

"Whether there is a case to be made for disciplinary action by our standard of clear and convincing evidence is still a matter to be taken up in the future," he said of Happe's case.

Lundberg said there are currently no disciplinary commission hearings scheduled involving Happe's license.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Happe said he previously chose not to fight his suspension while his criminal case proceeded.

Happe said he talked to his Indianapolis-based attorney regarding his license suspension on Monday.

"He said he's never represented a lawyer without a felony conviction who did not get their license back," he said.

The ILB has had a number of entries on the two young Evansville attorneys charged separately with meth violations. The most recent entry on the second attorney, Teresa Perry, is this one from Oct. 27th, quoting a C&P story that begins: "A local attorney who was jailed for allegedly failing a drug test ordered as a condition of bail was released Friday when the test results turned out to be a false positive."

Today Kate Braser reports in a lengthy story that begins:

Teresa Perry's relatives said she was the kind of child who always earned straight A's, kept her room spotless and never failed to remember a loved one's birthday. As an adult, she would call to check on her cancer-stricken grandmother several times a day.

Her home was tidy, and she volunteered at her church.

Those are some of the reasons why relatives say they were shocked by the 33-year-old lawyer's arrest in May. Perry was addicted to methamphetamine and faces eighty felony charges related to the drug.

Perry's arrest came one month after the arrest of another Evansville lawyer, Brad Happe. He, too, admitted to a methamphetamine addiction, but contested his arrest on meth-making charges. Last week, a jury found him not guilty of manufacturing the drug.

The back-to-back arrests of two local professionals forced some to re-evaluate stereotypes about the drug, which can be manufactured using over-the-counter ingredients.

Now deep into an intensive addiction recovery program, Perry said she is proof positive that meth's grip extends beyond the rural and poor.

"Meth affects everyone," she said. "There are a lot of types of users. I am familiar with a number of professionals who use. It's definitely a drug that is affecting all classes of people."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 14, 2007 09:44 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts