Indiana’s former elections chief raised questions about his attorney’s health during his 2012 voter fraud trial and said he thought it was “a joke” that his defense strategy was to call no witnesses. Charlie White testified Monday in a Hamilton County court that attorney Carl Brizzi appeared exhausted and “worn down” and was taking medication during the trial. “Every night he complained he couldn’t sleep,” White said. White was ousted as secretary of state in February 2012 after being convicted of voter fraud and other felonies. The charges stemmed from his use of his ex-wife’s home in Fishers as his voting address in 2010 while serving on the Fishers Town Council and running for secretary of state. Prosecutors said White lived in a townhouse outside his council district with his then-fiancee but continued to receive his council salary and vote in his old precinct.
White filed a 79-page petition in March asking the court to vacate the six felony convictions, saying Brizzi provided incompetent counsel by failing to call any witnesses. He filed a separate civil lawsuit in July accusing Brizzi of legal malpractice and other professional misconduct.
Brizzi testified last week that White was unpredictable and that having him testify would have been a disaster.
White and his wife, Michelle White, on Monday disputed Brizzi’s contention that their testimony would have contradicted each other if they’d testified. Brizzi said last week that when he was preparing Michelle White to testify, she stated that White hadn’t lived at his ex-wife’s address.
Full Article: Ex-Indiana elections chief questions lawyer’s health at 2012 trial, wants convictions tossed – Seymour Tribune.