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Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Ind. Decisions - "Former Cal Twp. trustee must change attorneys"
Joe Carlson reports in the NWI Times:
GARY | A federal judge ruled that former Calumet Township trustee and political insider Dozier Allen cannot use the township's former attorney, Fred Work, as his personal defense attorney in a fraud case.Work's history with the township conflicts with his interests in the Allen case, U.S. District Judge Paul Cherry ruled in Hammond.
Indiana rules of professional conduct for attorneys mandate that lawyers must be disqualified from cases in which their current and former clients have conflicting interests and refuse to sign waivers.
In this case, current Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin has refused to give Work permission to represent Allen, Hammond federal court records show.
"These ethical considerations outweigh and trump the right of Dozier T. Allen Jr. to continue to be represented by his chosen, preferred attorney, Frederick T. Work," Cherry wrote.
Allen already has retained an alternate defense attorney, former Gary Mayor Scott King. * * *
While Cherry agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Bell's legal arguments, the judge chastised the prosecutor in a court opinion for waiting so long to bring the issue regarding Work's conflicts to light. The judge noted it will impose severe hardship on Allen.
"The United States Government was, or should have been, well aware of these ethical and legal concerns on Sept. 21, 2007, the day attorney Work filed his written appearance," Cherry wrote. "Yet the Government waited nearly 10 months to first call these concerns to the court's attention."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 26, 2008 09:00 AM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions