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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Ind. Courts - Newton County prosecutor unlicensed

Updating this ILB entry from July 19, 2009, which quoted a story by the AP's Charles Wilson that began "Hundreds of criminal convictions, including that of a man found guilty of a crash that killed three people, could return to court because the Indiana prosecutor who oversaw the cases had an inactive law license for more than three years," Sophia Voravong reports today in the Lafayette Journal Courier:

Newton County Prosecutor J. Edward Barce admitted Friday that he submitted paperwork that rendered his Indiana law license inactive after closing a Kentland-based civil practice in 2005 to instead open a restaurant.

But Barce, 50, contends he did not know that choosing "inactive" on documents for annual registration fees for Indiana attorneys meant he could no longer prosecute cases.

The three-term elected prosecutor submitted such paperwork again in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

"I thought because I had closed my civil practice ... . I had no idea I was practicing without a license," Barce said during a disciplinary hearing Friday in Tippecanoe Superior Court 2.

"It's just an assumption I made -- I can't explain why. I had no idea my status was what it was."

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission filed a complaint against Barce in April 2009 for prosecuting felonies and misdemeanors in Newton County without an active license.

Barce could be disbarred, reprimanded or suspended.

Friday's hearing was held in Lafayette because the Indiana Supreme Court appointed Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 Judge Thomas Busch to preside over the case.

Busch on Friday gave Barce's attorney, Kevin McGoff, and disciplinary commission attorney Dennis McKinney until May 10 to turn in any related briefs.

He'll then give his decision to the Indiana Supreme Court. * * *

Though Barce's status has been challenged by two defendants, McKinney, the disciplinary commission attorney, argued that Barce's actions could be far reaching.

"We're not saying that it opens the floodgates for every criminal convicted during that time to have his conviction reversed," McKinney said.

"All we're saying is, there is a potential for it to be raised and burden the judicial system."

But McKinney said Barce has been cooperative. He admitted to all factual allegations against him but denied that it amounted to misconduct.

"I'm sorry that it came to having to involve the court in this case," Barce told Busch. "I wasn't trying to do anything crooked ... or benefit from it."

See also this ILB entry from April 7, 2010 re the Indiana Supreme Court's order that the general counsel of Indiana-based Celadon Group, Inc. stop practicing law in Indiana.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 10, 2010 08:20 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts