By LEE NOBLE
July 06, 2006 11:17 pm
—
After six years of racking up violations of attorney codes of conduct, a local criminal lawyer tendered his resignation to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Shawn D. Ramsey’s resignation was a response to an extensive list of complaints filed against Ramsey March 27.
The following were filed against Ramsey with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission:
n 15 complaints against Ramsey affecting 19 individuals who he was hired to represent.
n almost $19,000 worth of legal fees paid by those clients, who complain that Ramsey failed them by not appearing in court, refusing refunds or failing to communicate updates of their trials, among other violations.
n 50 violations of Rules of Conduct for Attorneys at Law contained in the above complaints.
n one charge of driving with a suspended license.
n one attempt to carry a handgun into the Madison County Government Center.
Ramsey could not be reached for comment; his law office phone has been disconnected and his home phone number is unlisted.
Paul Baylor, the local attorney who represented Ramsey during past legal troubles, declined to comment because he didn’t have up-to-date information on the proceedings and said he has not yet been in contact with his former colleague and client.
Seth Pruden, a staff attorney with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission (ISCDC) who handled the Ramsey complaints, said that by resigning while under disciplinary discretion Ramsey leaves himself open for possible reinstatement to practice law in Indiana.
“He apparently resigned to avoid the hearing where it would have been our burden to prove the accusations in these complaints true,” said Pruden.
Had Ramsey not done so and if he had lost his license, he would have permanently lost the privilege to practice law in Indiana.
Now, he must jump through an array of proverbial hoops if he wants to prove himself ethically fit enough for reinstatement. That process, Pruden said, is simple for lawyers fresh out of law school, but would be very difficult for one with a record like Ramsey’s.
When asked about Ramsey’s history and the occurrence of such incidents in the area, Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said that “it happens from time to time, but no one in the last three to four years has had those types of problems.”
Though considering the broader scope of his own jurisdiction, Pruden agreed, adding “that is a very high number. It is uncommon for a lawyer to have that many complaints.”
He also said the ISCDC hears about 1,600 complaints a year. That may sound high, but when weighed against the number of lawyers practicing in Indiana, 16,000, that ratio of 1 in 10, Pruden said, is not so lofty.
“Any one of these complaints as individual cases would have amounted to very little (disciplinary action),” said Pruden. “But as a pattern, they amount to quite a lot.”
The designs in Ramsey’s pattern largely relate to his failure to appear in court to represent his clients and his denial of refunds after his work was found unsatisfactory (or statements made to his clients were found to be false), although there are many others.
To clarify, these complaints are composed of violations of codes of conduct. For example, when one of his former clients called the ISCDC to allege his misconduct, all of the violations listed in that individual’s report made up one complaint.
But Ramsey wasn’t accused of failing his clients exclusively.
One complaint said he failed to supervise his former legal assistant Robert Lampe and failed to have adequate procedures at his office that would restrict Lampe’s contact with his clients, among other violations.
But more matters of interest arose that related specifically to Ramsey’s conduct in and outside the courtroom.
In one instance, a former client named Phyllis Hobbs reported Ramsey to the ISCDC for the mishandling of her case that resulted in a judgment against her of $238,500.
When confronted by the ISCDC about the matter, Ramsey admitted that he considered it his job to “answer questions incompletely (in court and) not produce evidence of the assets ... until the assets were out of danger,” according to the Ramsey complaints.
Yet, when Ramsey answered questions about this delay in the court where Hobbs’ case was being processed, the complaints show that he told the court “the problem was a result of his ‘depression’ and ‘recent and possible terminal illness contracted by (his) son.’”
Ramsey was accused of dishonesty — though he claimed it was honest irresponsibility — in a case unrelated to his law practice as well.
According to The Herald Bulletin story published after Ramsey carried a handgun into the Madison County courthouse, he showed up to work that day with a loaded, albeit jammed, .22-caliber Taurus semiautomatic handgun in his briefcase. Sheriff’s deputies spotted the pistol when they X-rayed the case and asked Ramsey if he was carrying a firearm.
Deputies reported that Ramsey told them he was unarmed, but they then searched the briefcase and found the gun.
In a subsequent letter to the community written by Ramsey and published in this newspaper, Ramsey described the incident as “an oversight” caused more by forgetfulness than deceit or ill will.
Despite all the complaints against Ramsey, it appears his public actions around the Madison County Government Center didn’t show much cause for concern among the legal community in Madison County.
“I didn’t see anything in his work in the courtroom that suggested his representation was affecting the outcomes of cases,” Cummings said.
But, behind closed doors, Ramsey’s mishandling of cases led to his resigning after almost 10 years of legal service, six of which (the complaints date back to November 2000) were marred by allegations of misconduct.
Because the ISCDC only has jurisdiction over Ramsey’s license to practice law, Ramsey will not face any criminal or civil charges unless one of his former clients presses charges or sues him.
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