Indiana attorney suspended for helping client buy pot

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A southern Indiana attorney convicted of helping one of his clients buy marijuana has been suspended for at least nine months by the Indiana Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Brent E. Dickson wrote in the court’s order that Bloomington lawyer David Schalk’s actions “demonstrate his need for a substantial period of suspension.”

The Herald-Times reports Schalk was found to have violated two Indiana Professional Conduct rules when he helped a client purchase marijuana in order to prove that a police informant involved in the client’s case was a drug dealer.

Schalk was convicted in 2009 of misdemeanor conspiracy to commit possession of marijuana. He appealed that conviction but it was upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Schalk’s suspension begins May 24.