In re Schlesinger, 45S00–1511–DI–655.

53 N.E.3d 417 (Mem)

In the matter of P. Jeffrey SCHLESINGER, Respondent.

No. 45S00–1511–DI–655.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

March 21, 2016.

Published Order Approving Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline

Pursuant to Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 23(11), the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission and Respondent have submitted for approval a “Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline” stipulating agreed facts and proposed discipline as summarized below.

Stipulated Facts: At all relevant times, Respondent practiced law as an appellate public defender in Lake County. Effective beginning January 1, 2003, Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B) changed a frequently-invoked standard of appellate sentencing review from “manifestly unreasonable” to “inappropriate.” Despite this shift in sentencing review, in at least four appeals Respondent has continued to invoke the outdated “manifestly unreasonable” standard, including three appeals initiated more than a decade after that standard was replaced with the “inappropriate” standard. In each of the first three appeals, the Court of Appeals warned Respondent to cite the correct standard in future cases, but Respondent failed to heed these warnings. In the fourth appeal, after Respondent once again invoked the “manifestly unreasonable” standard, the Court of Appeals ordered the appellant's brief stricken and remanded the case to the trial court “for the appointment of competent counsel.” See Marcus v. State, 27 N.E.3d 1134 (Ind.Ct.App.2015). Respondent was suspended without pay from his employment following the Marcus decision.

Violations: The parties agree that Respondent violated these Indiana...