All posts by Chris Buckley

2009 Shows Significant Jump in Number of Meth Labs in Indiana

Perhaps the Hoosier State should change its name to the Methamphetamine State, after the release of 2009 statistics. According to this article in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Indiana shows a 25% increase in the number of methamphetamine labs as compared to 2008.

Indiana State Police report a total of 1343 meth labs throughout the State, with the highest concentration in the Northeast. This comports with local myth, despite the fact that previous to 2008, the most labs were discovered along the state line between central Indiana and central Illinois, with the highest concentration in Vigo County, Indiana.

The article points out that these labs are concentrated in areas with high industrial and factory workers, and a recent trend shows more labs using the “one-pot” method and fewer large-scale ones. This is a sign that users are going to more practical production methods to cater to their own individual habits and those contributing to the overall effort, rather than larger scale production for sale.

One thing is for sure: we have a huge problem on our hands here in Indiana. A cheap, highly addictive, dangerous substance which is relatively easy to produce, and an insatiable market. As I mentioned in an NWI Lawyer article dated January 3, a new system purports to work smarter, not harder. Hopefully the new law can address this statewide pandemic.

Suggestions!?

Surprising Victory for Illinois Medical Malpractice Victims

In this Legal Newsline article, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a law capping damages in medical malpractice cases in Illinois. You can read the full text of Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital on the official Illinois Supreme Court Website. You can listen to oral arguments recorded live here.

The law, passed in 1995, limited non-economic damages to an arbitrary amount of $500,000 in each case of medical negligence against individual physicians and $1 Million for hospitals. As of yesterday, all of this is no longer in effect. I believe that this is a major victory for the victims of medical malpractice, and should serve as persuasive authority for overturning similar laws in other states, such as here in Indiana. One Illinois personal injury attorney, Robert Kreisman, writes a very informative article about what this case means in Illinois law.

As I have commented before, I believe that this promotes sound public policy for two (2) main reasons. First, it adequately compensates victims for the damages they suffer at the hand of negligent doctors. In my experience, I have met with many who have suffered grave injuries and sustained insurmountable monetary damages. These innocent patients have done nothing wrong. They spend valuable time and money pursuing and enforcing their rights. I believe they should be adequately compensated for this time, energy, and effort.

Secondly, in such a system, lawyers can provide a much needed check on the medical profession. Absent such a check, doctors are free to be careless. But for the diligent work of medical malpractice attorneys, doctors would not be held accountable for their misdeeds. Every other profession is given some check on the quality of service. For instance, every state bar allows aggrieved litigants who have suffered legal malpractice to file complaints with the respective disciplinary commissions. Many of these are online, extremely user-friendly, and can be career-ending for attorneys, even in a single instance. As meritless as the overwhelming majority of these claims are, each and every one is given attention. In addition, there are lawyers who build entire practices pursuing legal malpractice. These lawyers and firms are eager to find flaws on the part of other lawyers, and ruthlessly pursue them. There are no caps in legal malpractice. Why should doctors get such special treatment?

Lawyers, in filing meritorious medical malpractice claims, make it economically infeasible for poor performing doctors to practice. From my interviews with the field, most doctors can survive a single verdict. Multiple verdicts, however, will end a physician’s career. Good riddance, I say… Who wants to hire a physician who has been the subject of MULTIPLE medical malpractice claims? Not I.

I understand that this raises the overall cost of healthcare in the current system. The new proposed system seeks to limit these suits altogether, for the sake of efficiency; but is that nominal gain worth the price of deteriorating the quality of care?

Thoughts?

Drunk Driver Causes Mishawaka Officer’s Death, MADD Proposes Solution

Have you ever heard of technology that requires a driver to blow into a breathalyzer before he can drive?

Yes, you heard correctly, it’s not something you saw on CSI, it is a real world solution to prevent drunken driving for repeat offenders, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (“MADD”) believes.

On Sunday, the South Bend Tribune reported an anecdote of a repeat offender who received leniency on his first (3) DUI’s, and on his fourth, ended up killing Mishawaka Police Cpl. James Szuba, when Devine’s SUV plowed into his police cruiser during a pursuit.

Unfortunately, tales like these aren’t all that uncommon. Something is necessary to prevent the death and destruction caused by drunk driving. At the same time, Space Age technology seems to be a very expensive option.

Who should bear this cost?

Judicial Technology and Automation Committee Makes Progress Toward Statewide Odyssey Case Management System

Odyssey, the proposed uniform statewide court reporting data system, is one step closer to becoming a reality in Indiana.

Back in 2005, the contract to bring the state system online was awarded to Tyler Technologies out of Plano, Texas, and recent committee reports suggest the system could be up and running very soon. (Check out the minutes of the committee report here.)

How would a uniform, publicly available court reporting system improve your legal practice?

VU School of Law Alumnus Announces Candidacy for Indiana Judgeship

Doug Fahl officially announced Saturday that he will be running for the Whitley County Superior Court Judge.

Read the full original Talk of the Town story here.

Fahl is a 1985 graduate of Columbia City Joint High School, a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington and holds a Law Degree from the Valparaiso University School of Law. Fahl has been practicing law in Northeast Indiana since 1997 and has served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Kosciusko County for the past five years where he has tried numerous cases from drunk driving to methamphetamine manufacturing.

Fahl also serves as a JAG officer in the Indiana Army National Guard. He has been a member of the Guard/Reserves since 1990 and recently served a tour of duty in Iraq where he earned the Bronze Star Medal and a Combat Action Badge for his actions in the war zone.

Fahl noted, “I earned a true appreciation for the role of Judge while I was in Iraq. The Iraqi Judges had to move their entire families into armed compounds. They had to risk everything, including their lives, to bring justice to their people.”

Fahl lives in Columbia City with his wife Marla, daughter Meghan and stepdaughters Madi and Audrey Sjahfiedin. His stepdaughter, Chelsea Sjahfiedin, attends Taylor University.

Doug and his family are members of St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church.

Fahl has been heavily involved in his community over the last 13 years serving as a board member for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, past president of the Whitley County Bar Association, past president of the Columbia City Kiwanis, an ex-officio member of the Columbia City Tree Board, a member of the Columbia City Plan Commission and serving as a two-term City Councilman.

He is currently a member of the VFW Post 5582, The National Guard Association of Indiana, USA Triathlon, the Tri-Fort Triathlon Team and the YMCA Running Club.

“I would be humbly honored to serve the citizens of Whitley County in this very important position,” Fahl concluded.

Blogging Special Feature: Do You Need an Innovative Marketing Plan to Energize Your Business?

In our “Blogging Special Feature” series, we are seeking to integrate other blogs from around Northwest Indiana in an attempt to cross-pollinate ideas and concepts across various trades and disciplines. We can all benefit from learning from others in our community about their respective businesses. With that, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Kathy Sipple, Northwest Indiana’s first “Social Media Coach”.

Forget everything you know about marketing for a moment. Now, I am going to encourage you to start with fresh, new, cutting edge ideas that could improve your marketing strategy at little cost to you and take your business to the next level.

Kathy Sipple is a social media consultant who seeks to educate your business on new marketing concepts utilizing social media in various creative ways. Her social media strategies can be tailored to any type of business and she has quite an impressive track record.

I met Kathy at one of several social media strategy events that she holds annually, and to say I was impressed is an understatement. I was lucky enough to attend one of Kathy’s social media training classes that was aimed at beginners like myself. When I met Kathy, I didn’t think of MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook as powerful marketing tools, but a few minutes with Kathy change my perception entirely. More companies are using social media marketing in attempt to reach more customers and stay connected with existing customers while reducing marketing costs, and I will snatch up any opportunity to capitalize from her powerful insight.

If you are lucky enough to get the opportunity to attend one of Kathy’s free social media strategy seminars, I would strongly encourage you to do so. It will change the way even you think about your business.

Sincere thanks,

Chris Buckley
Host, NWI Lawyer

Blogging Special Feature: Keep it Local in Northwest Indiana, and Save Money on Your Insurance Needs

Even amidst the buzz of the mega-companies these days such as, “So easy a caveman could do it,” “15 minutes could save you 15% on your car insurance,” and, “You’re in good hands with Allstate,” there are still people who do business utilizing face-to-face personal relationships, and at the same time integrating new web technology to serve you faster. Aaron Simac at NWI Quotes.com manages a blog that discusses issues that affect you. From comprehensive auto insurance to homeowner’s insurance policies, one Northwest Indiana insurance company works hard to save you money.

Not only can NWI Quotes save you money on insurance, it provides you with service in your neighborhood. What’s more, Aaron provides NWI Quotes as a free informational resource dedicated to educate consumers about their choices when it comes to their insurance needs.

NWI Quotes is dedicated to serve the members of the communities of Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana. Whether you need insurance in Chesterton, Valparaiso, Crown Point, or Cedar Lake, supporting local businesses in your community ensures that we can all grow together. They have an easy-to-use, clickable forms on the blog, and as well conduct quotes over the phone. Filling out the simple form or making that call could possibly reduce your monthly expenses, and allow you to spend your money where it matters most, while delivering the insurance coverage that you need.

I encourage all of my readers to take a minute to fill out this form for auto insurance quote or this form for a homeowner’s insurance quote. There is no obligation for doing so, and it will likely pay large dividends later on.

Sincere thanks,

Chris Buckley
Host, NWI Lawyer.

Live Oral Arguments Online: Indiana Supreme Court Hears Valparaiso Rape Case

Does anyone remember the creepy sketches of the man accused of breaking into a Valparaiso University student’s apartment and raping her in Homer Court a few years ago? Well, now the man on that sketch claims to have not understood his rights when they were read to him before he was arrested and later charged with rape, attempted rape, and burglary, the NWI Times reports.

In his initial trial, Arturo Garcia-Torres’ defense attorney argued that DNA evidence as well as an incriminating statement should be excluded because Garcia-Torres did not understand his rights. In State of Indiana v. Arturo Garcia-Torres, 64D01-0506-FB-4871, Judge Roger Bradford in Porter Superior Court 1 agreed, and suppressed the statement, but not DNA evidence. Garcia-Torres was convicted and sentenced to 36 years in prison. The conviction was upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals in Arturo Garcia-Torres v. State of Indiana, 64A03-0812-CR-630.

In this appeal to the State’s highest Court, the defense will argue that 1) at least (2) separate trials should have been held to eliminate undue prejudice to the jurors, and 2) that DNA evidence should have been suppressed due to the defendant’s lack of knowledge with regard to his consent to the test.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office will argue, however, that a single trial was appropriate due to redundancy and overlap of the evidence. Further, the Deputy will argue that Garcia-Torres knowingly consented to the test, and therefore, that such evidence was properly admitted.

The Oral Argument in the Garcia-Torres case before the Indiana Supreme Court can be heard live beginning at 9:45EDT today, January 11, 2010.

Munster Silver Spoon Sord Released on $200K Bond after Killing Girlfriend

Nicholas Sord, 22, is charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence over the deadly crash at 147th Street and Oak Park Avenue, Cook County. Sord’s passenger was his girlfriend, Jessica Mejia, 20, who died at the scene of the accident. Sord’s blood-alcohol concentration was 0.236, nearly three times the legal limit, the NWI Times and the Chicago Sun-Times report.

Though a Markham judge issued a $200,000 bond, Sord posted the required $20,000 cash for bail and was released from custody pending trial.

NWI Lawyer will continue to follow this story as it develops.

Legal Marketing Blog: 8 Marketing Resolutions for the New Year

If you are looking for creative ways to expand your law practice, this article is a must. It premises upon the old fashioned techniques of face-to-face marketing through education, such as giving periodic seminars in your respective field of expertise, to sending out a quarterly newsletter, to good old community involvement. Giving seminars and speeches at club meetings can give your practice the edge that it has been missing.