Prosecutor’s suspension set
The Courier-Journal has an article titled, “Prosecutor, aide barred beginning next month.”
The suspensions of Washington County Prosecutor Cynthia Winkler and her chief deputy for ethical violations will begin Oct. 10, the Indiana Supreme Court said yesterday.
Winkler will be barred from practicing law for 120 days and her deputy, Blaine Goode, for 60 days under a ruling issued last week.
The high court yesterday appointed Nancy Jacobs, the former prosecutor for Jefferson and Switzerland counties, to fill Winkler’s position until she returns in February.
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The suspensions were prompted by a 2003 complaint from Lewis Steward, whom Winkler was then prosecuting on methamphetamine charges.
In February of that year Steward’s attorney, Mark Clark, was questioning a police officer in preparation for the trial. During the questioning, Steward communicated with his lawyer by writing notes on a legal pad.
At one point Steward left the pad face down on a table while he and Clark left the room to confer in private. Goode tore the page of notes from the pad and handed it to Winkler, who placed it under her own files, according to records of the discipline case.
The prosecutors wanted a sample of Steward’s handwriting to compare to that on a methamphetamine recipe being used as evidence in the case against him.
Winkler and Goode pretended not to know where the missing notes were when Steward and Clark later asked about them and began searching for them. The notes were turned over after Steward spotted a corner of the page sticking out from under Winkler’s files and asked about it.
You can read the order of the Supreme Court for In the Matter of Blaine Goode online (pdf).
