Indiana: Supreme Court suspends Charlie White’s law license for 2 years | Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Supreme Court suspended former Secretary of State Charlie White’s law license Tuesday for a period of at least two years, according to court documents. White was convicted in February 2012 of six Class D felony charges, including voter fraud, perjury and theft. Prosecutors say he voted in a district other than his district of residency. White was sentenced in Hamilton Superior Court to one year of home detention and spent the following year appealing his sentence, claiming his defense attorney was incompetent.

Indiana: Former Secretary of State Charlie White begins home detention sentence | Indianapolis Star

Former Secretary of State Charlie White has started serving his home detention sentence after losing a lengthy legal battle to have all of his felony convictions in a voter fraud case overturned. The former Hamilton County Republican Party chairman was placed on electronic monitoring Friday, said Ralph Watson, executive director for Hamilton County Community Corrections. White began his sentence after exhausting all of his options in state courts to overturn his convictions.

Indiana: Charlie White intends to ask U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeal | Indianapolis Star

Former Secretary of State Charlie White wants to get all of his felony convictions in a voter fraud case overturned, and he’s willing to go as far as the country’s highest court to do so. Indianapolis attorney Andrea Ciobanu, who is handling White’s appeal, said her client intends to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case, following a decision by the Indiana Supreme Court last week to not rule on his 2012 convictions. “He fully intends to exhaust all of his remedies,” Ciobanu said in an email to The Indianapolis Star, adding that White also can file a habeas corpus petition in federal court — an option that she says the embattled former politician will pursue if necessary.

Indiana: High court denies Charlie White appeal | NWI.com

Former Secretary of State Charlie White is planning to appeal his felony convictions for vote fraud, theft and perjury to the highest court in the country after the Indiana Supreme Court refused to hear his case. In a one-page order issued late Thursday, Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush denied White’s request to review a Dec. 29 Court of Appeals ruling that affirmed three of the six guilty verdicts against him. The decision to deny transfer was 4-0 with Justice Mark Massa not participating, likely due to his role as attorney to Republican former Gov. Mitch Daniels prior to the 2010 elections where Hoosiers overwhelmingly picked White to serve as Indiana’s chief elections officer.

Indiana: Appeals court strikes half of Charlie White’s felony convictions | NW Times

Former Secretary of State Charlie White remains a convicted felon, despite the Indiana Court of Appeals Monday vacating three of the six guilty verdicts against him. In a 3-0 ruling, the appeals court struck one of White’s perjury convictions on the grounds that lying about one’s home address on a marriage license application is not a material violation of the perjury statute, so long as the applicant lives in the county. Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik, a Porter County native, noted in her 55-page ruling that furnishing false information to a county clerk on a marriage license application is a felony, but White wasn’t charged with that crime. The court also concluded two of White’s voter fraud convictions violated double jeopardy prohibitions because they were based on the same criminal actions that resulted in two of his other convictions. The double jeopardy finding was expected after Deputy Attorney General Justin Roebel admitted at oral arguments earlier this month he would have charged White differently to avoid even the possibility of double jeopardy. At the same time, the appeals court affirmed White is guilty of perjury for lying about his address on a voter registration form, of deliberately voting in the wrong precinct in the May 2010 Republican primary election and of theft, for continuing to receive a salary as a Fishers town councilman after forfeiting his seat by moving out of his district.

Indiana: Court hears ex-Indiana elections chief’s appeal | Associated Press

An attorney for former Secretary of State Charlie White faced tough questioning Tuesday from Indiana’s three-judge appeals court during White’s latest bid to overturn the voter fraud convictions that forced him from office. Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik interrupted attorney Andrea Ciobanu only seconds after the attorney began her oral arguments and asked Ciobanu what her “strongest argument” was in White’s appeal of his convictions on six felony counts. Ciobanu said her most substantial argument in seeking to overturn White’s 2012 convictions is that the trial court in central Indiana’s Hamilton County failed to apply Indiana’s residency statute “at all” as his case played out. She said that left White unable to convey to jurors where his actual place of residence was as they heard evidence and eventually convicted him on three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and one count of theft.

Indiana: Court hears appeal of ex-secretary of state, who’s fighting voter fraud convictions | Associated Press

An attorney for former Secretary of State Charlie White faced tough questioning Tuesday from Indiana’s three-judge appeals court during White’s latest bid to overturn the voter fraud convictions that forced him from office. Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik interrupted attorney Andrea Ciobanu only seconds after the attorney began her oral arguments and asked Ciobanu what her “strongest argument” was in White’s appeal of his convictions on six felony counts. Ciobanu said her most substantial argument in seeking to overturn White’s 2012 convictions is that the trial court in central Indiana’s Hamilton County failed to apply Indiana’s residency statute “at all” as his case played out. She said that left White unable to convey to jurors where his actual place of residence was as they heard evidence and eventually convicted him on three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and one count of theft.

Indiana: Court hears appeal of ex-Indiana secretary of state, who’s fighting voter fraud convictions | Associated Press

An attorney for former Secretary of State Charlie White faced tough questioning Tuesday from Indiana’s three-judge appeals court during White’s latest bid to overturn the voter fraud convictions that forced him from office. Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik interrupted attorney Andrea Ciobanu only seconds after the attorney began her oral arguments and asked Ciobanu what her “strongest argument” was in White’s appeal of his convictions on six felony counts. Ciobanu said her most substantial argument in seeking to overturn White’s 2012 convictions is that the trial court in central Indiana’s Hamilton County failed to apply Indiana’s residency statute “at all” as his case played out. She said that left White unable to convey to jurors where his actual place of residence was as they heard evidence and eventually convicted him on three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and one count of theft. “I think it’s difficult for the jury to make that decision based on the evidence they were presented and the limited information they were given and the misapplication of the law,” Ciobanu told the appeals court.

Indiana: Hearing set on ousted politician Charlie White’s appeal | Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Court of Appeals is set to hear oral arguments next week in former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s appeal of his perjury, theft and fraud conviction. The hearing is set for 1 p.m. Dec. 9. White’s appeal came after a Hamilton Superior Court judge denied his request to overturn his 2012 conviction of six Class D felony charges. He filed the request in March 2013, saying that his attorney, former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, failed to provide effective counsel. The criminal charges against White stemmed from his residency while he served on the Fishers Town Council. He claimed that he lived at his ex-wife’s home on the east side of Fishers. But prosecutors said he actually lived in a townhouse on the opposite side of town with his then-fiancee. The townhouse was outside his council district, but he continued to take his council salary and vote in the precinct of his former residence.

Indiana: Appeals hearing set for ex-Indiana elections chief | Associated Press

The next step in former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s fight to overturn his voter fraud conviction is set for next month. The Indiana Court of Appeals announced Monday that a panel of judges will hear oral arguments in White’s case on Dec. 9. The Republican was automatically removed from office in February 2012 after a Hamilton County jury convicted him of six felonies. That included using his ex-wife’s home in Fishers as his voting address in 2010 while living elsewhere as he served on the Indianapolis suburb’s town council and campaigned for secretary of state.

Indiana: The revenge of ex-Secretary of State Charlie White? | Indianapolis Star

Disgraced politician Charlie White is seeking to reinvent himself — as a tell-all political blogger. His target: His Republican colleagues, among others. The former Indiana Secretary of State recently launched The Indy Sentinel, a new website about “pols and media who are fair & those who live to serve the elites in both parties to the public’s detriment,” according to his Twitter account. White, who was convicted of theft and voter fraud in 2012, said he plans to ramp up the website in the coming weeks — as soon as he finishes a reply brief for one of his ongoing legal cases. Right now, the site has just two articles, including one about campaign donations to Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and the state’s Stellar Communities grant program.

Indiana: Charlie White stays free pending appeal | The Indiana Lawyer

Convicted former Secretary of State Charlie White’s sentence of one year of home detention will not be executed pending his post-conviction relief appeal, a judge ruled last week. White’s attorney Andrea Ciobanu said a motion to stay execution of the sentence was granted Jan. 8 by Hamilton Superior Judge Daniel Pfleging. White filed a notice of appeal on Dec. 30, after the court rejected his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Indiana: Appeals Court throws out 3 convictions in Charlie White case | Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Court of Appeals threw out three of six felony convictions of former Secretary of State Charlie White, citing double jeopardy. The decision, issued today, came just less than a month after a hearing on White’s appeal. The judges also ruled that White’s attorney, former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, was not ineffective. White was convicted in February 2012 of six Class D felony charges, which stemmed from his residency while he served on the Fishers Town Council. Prosecutors said White voted and took pay as a council member of a district in which he no longer resided. White claimed he was living with his ex-wife, which was within the council district. But evidence presented during the trial indicated that he had been living in a new town home outside the district.

Indiana: Judge rejects ex-secretary of state’s request to overturn voter fraud conviction | Associated Press

A judge has denied former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s request to have his conviction on voter fraud and other charges overturned and ordered White to begin serving his sentence of a year of home confinement. Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Daniel Pfleging ruled Monday that there was no evidence to show that White’s trial attorney, Carl Brizzi, shouldn’t enjoy the “strong presumption of competence” and that Brizzi’s trial strategy was “objectively reasonable.” Pfleging wrote that White couldn’t point to a single piece of evidence or a witness that would have swayed the jury’s decision, and that White hasn’t presented anything during post-conviction evidentiary hearings that challenged Pfleging’s “confidence in the outcome or the process which produced it.” White’s current attorney, Bryan Ciyou, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Thursday. His office said he wouldn’t be at work Thursday.

Indiana: Ex-elections chief questions lawyer’s health at 2012 trial, wants convictions tossed | Associated Press

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.

Indiana: Carl Brizzi tells court that if Charlie White testified, it would have been a ‘disaster’ | Indianapolis Star

Defense attorney Carl Brizzi testified this morning that allowing former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White to take the stand in his 2012 theft and voter fraud trial “would have been a disaster.” Brizzi had represented White in that case. White is now trying to erase his felony convictions for theft and voter fraud as he faces a one-year, home-detention sentence. White’s new attorney, Andrea Ciobanu, is trying to show that Brizzi provided incompetent counsel. This morning, she hammered Brizzi over why he didn’t allow anyone to testify in White’s defense. Brizzi, a former Marion County prosecutor, said White was tough to control during the proceedings in early 2012 and he believed White’s testimony would work against him. “It was all I could do to just keep him … to just maintain composure,” Brizzi said. As an example of White’s behavior, Brizzi described a newspaper interview he let White do as a “disaster.” Brizzi said if White had testified, deliberations would have been 30 minutes.

Indiana: Ex-elections chief wants convictions tossed | Associated Press

Indiana’s former elections chief was difficult to control and not allowed to take the stand at his 2012 voter fraud trial because he was a loose cannon, the attorney who defended him testified Tuesday. Carl Brizzi explained his defense strategy during a Hamilton County court hearing on ex-Secretary of State Charlie White’s petition to have his convictions overturned. White was sentenced to a year of home detention and was removed from office in February 2012 after a jury convicted him of voter fraud and other felony charges. The case stemmed from his use of his ex-wife’s home in Fishers as his voting address in 2010 while serving on the Indianapolis suburb’s 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.

Indiana: Brizzi’s competence on trial as former secretary of state Charlie White seeks relief from conviction | Indianapolis Star

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s appeal hinges on the following question: Was his attorney, Carl Brizzi, incompetent or did the decision not to present much of a defense boil down to an agreed-upon “legal strategy” that went wrong? Despite a long day of legal arguments Thursday, mixed in with some testimony from two witnesses — one expert and White’s wife, Michelle — little progress was made in answering that question. Hamilton Superior Court Judge Daniel Pfleging instead said he wanted to hear from White and Brizzi. White, who is trying to erase his felony convictions for theft and voter fraud, spent the day beside his new attorney, Andrea Ciobanu, who struggled to put on her case after the judge dismissed several of the arguments she had prepared.

Indiana: Charlie White claims Carl Brizzi is at fault for voter fraud conviction | Fox 59

Former Secretary of State Charlie White’s case of voter fraud has always been fraught with contradictions and irony. Elected as the man to enforce Indiana’s election laws, he was convicted of voter fraud for casting a ballot in a part of Fishers where he didn’t live. His attorney was a high profile former prosecutor who was known for taking on the tough cases personally, but White claims he surrendered his case without putting up a fight. White will appear before a judge in Hamilton County Thursday, seeking post conviction relief for the jury verdict that booted him from office. Behind his appeal is White’s contention that former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi practiced legal malpractice in failing to mount a defense during his trial in the winter of 2012. “Absolutely I got convicted because of ineffective counsel,” White told Fox59 News in his first interview since he filed a lawsuit against Brizzi last month. “My appeals attorney, after he read it, asked me if Carl Brizzi had ever done a trial on his own before.”

Indiana: Former Secretary of State Charlie White sues Carl Brizzi | Indianapolis Star

Former Secretary of State Charlie White has sued former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, alleging legal malpractice and other professional malfeasance in the handling of a criminal case that resulted in White being convicted of voter fraud, perjury and theft. The felony convictions forced White to resign in February 2012 from the state post he won election to in 2010. White is seeking a new trial. He said Brizzi, a former friend and political associate, didn’t provide an adequate defense at his 2012 trial. That request is pending in Hamilton Superior Court. White also is pressing that point in the lawsuit filed last week in Marion Superior Court. In the 31-page complaint, White makes numerous complaints about Brizzi’s work as his defense attorney, alleging legal malpractice, breach of contract, negligent or reckless infliction of emotional distress, fraud and unjust enrichment.

Indiana: Ex-secretary of state sues defense lawyer, claiming voter fraud trial was mishandled | Associated Press

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White alleges in a lawsuit that he was the victim of legal malpractice by his defense attorney leading up to the voter fraud conviction that forced him from office. White’s lawsuit against former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi contends that Brizzi wasn’t adequately versed in the complexities of election, property and residency laws at White’s February 2012 trial. Brizzi “rendered legal services that fell below the reasonable standard of criminal defense attorneys because he was ignorant of the law, criminal trial procedure and ignorant of the facts in critical phases of (White’s) case during the jury trial,” White contends in the filed last week in Marion County court. A Hamilton County jury convicted White on voter fraud and other charges after Brizzi did not call any witnesses and immediately rested the defense after the prosecution wrapped up its case. White was sentenced to one year of home detention and was automatically removed from office.

Editorials: Getting beyond the fraud | The Journal Gazette

Before Indiana GOP officials bluster on too long about how dirty the Indiana Democratic Party’s kettle is when it comes to election fraud, they should keep in mind their own record. On Thursday, state GOP Chairman Eric Holcomb sent out a caustic fund- raising email to party faithful saying “Election fraud is alive and well within the Indiana Democratic Party” and suggesting a donation to the Republican Party “will help ensure the integrity of our electoral process.”

Indiana: Charlie White case gets new judge | Indianapolis Star

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White will get a new judge to hear his complaints about his criminal trial, which ended with a jury convicting him of six felonies.White had petitioned for a new judge in March, claiming that Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation, who had handled his case since his 2011 indictment, was biased against him because of their dealings when White was chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party. He said Nation’s opinion of him outside the courtroom led him to make several rulings against White throughout proceedings that culminated in White’s 2012 trial and conviction. Nation granted White’s motion for a new judge this week, and his case has been re-assigned to Hamilton Superior Court Judge Daniel Pfleging.

Indiana: White blames lawyer for his voter fraud conviction | SFGate

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White said in court documents Thursday that his attorney didn’t mount any defense to protect him from the conviction that forced him from office. The assertion is among several in a petition filed in Hamilton County asking a judge to toss out White’s convictions on voter fraud and other counts. White said the defense strategy used by his attorney — former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi — was “deficient and unreasonable.” Brizzi did not call any witnesses at White’s February 2012 trial and immediately rested the defense after the prosecution wrapped up its case. White was sentenced last year to one year of home detention and remains free on bail. The document says Brizzi’s defense was riddled with errors and that the former prosecutor was “ignorant of the law.”

Indiana: Charlie White must file court documents in voter fraud trial by March 15 | Indianapolis Star

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White has until March 15 to file court documents explaining why he thinks he should get a new trial on voter fraud and theft charges. During a telephone conference with attorneys on the case Wednesday afternoon, Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation asked White’s attorney, Andrea Ciobanu, to file White’s post-conviction relief petition by March 15. He also scheduled a June 4 hearing on the petition. However, Nation did not rule on special prosecutors’ motion for White to begin serving his one-year home-detention sentence, special prosecutor Dan Sigler said today.

Indiana: Ex-Secretary of State White appeals 3 convictions | Post-Tribune

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White is appealing three of the six felony convictions that got him ousted from office earlier this year. The appeal filed last week in the Indiana Court of Appeals challenges his convictions on charges of perjury on his marriage license application, submitting a false voter registration application and casting a fraudulent ballot. The brief does not contest White’s three other felony convictions.

Indiana: Governor Picks Co-Author of Strict Voter ID for Secretary of State | ThinkProgress

With the recent felony conviction of then-Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White (R), the task fell upon Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) to select a replacement for the chief elections officer of his state. Friday, he announced his pick: state Senator Connie Lawson. Lawson, who served in the state senate since 1996 and as clerk of the Hendricks County Circuit Court for seven years before that, was one of the two original authors of Senate Bill 483. That law, enacted in 2005 and upheld by a divided U.S. Supreme Court in 2008, was among the nation’s first laws mandating strict photo identification requirements for voters. Lawson’s concern about election integrity was also evident in another key vote — in 2010, she voted against the bill that made it legal for alcohol to be sold on election day in Indiana.

Indiana: Gov. Mitch Daniels picks Connie Lawson as new Indiana Secretary of State | Indianapolis Star

Connie Lawson, who has served in the state senate since 1996, is Indiana’s new secretary of state. Gov. Mitch Daniels named her as his pick to replace Charlie White this morning, and she was sworn-in by Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman in a brief ceremony in his Statehouse office. Daniels called Lawson — who has been Senate Republican floor leader, chairwoman of the Senate local government committee, a member of the elections committee and a former Hendricks County clerk — the “obvious” choice to take over as the state’s chief elections official. “I don’t know when I’ve felt so good or confident about a decision as the appointment this morning of Senator Connie Lawson as Indiana’s new secretary of state. I doubt the state has ever been served by someone better prepared for her duties than Connie will be.”

Indiana: Charlie White eligible to run for office, Indiana Supreme Court rules | Indianapolis Star

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was eligible to run for office, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled this morning. The state’s highest court issued a unanimous decision this morning saying that even though White was registered to vote at his ex-wife’s house when he ran for office, he could still be a candidate. The court’s decision will allow Gov. Mitch Daniels to appoint a permanent successor for White, who was removed from office last month after being convicted of six felony charges, including voter fraud. Daniels will not appoint someone today, his spokeswoman, Jane Jankowski, said. Daniels issued a statement this morning, thanking the Supreme Court for ruling on the matter quickly. “Now that the duty to select a new Secretary of State is certain, we’ll do so with promptness,” Daniels said in the statement.

Indiana: State Supreme Court hears election challenge to Charlie White | The Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Supreme Court raised several questions about voter registration laws during a hearing Wednesday to determine if Charlie White was eligible to run for secretary of state in 2010. But those questions might not be enough for the state’s highest court to order White’s removal from the office. The Indiana Supreme Court has never ousted an elected official because of an election challenge. Supreme Court justices typically defer to voters, said Joel Schumm, a professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. It seems likely they will do so in this case, Schumm said, especially since White’s voting issues were well-publicized before the election, and he won by a large margin anyway. If the Supreme Court rules against White, the Democrat who lost to him by more than 300,000 votes in November 2010 could take office.