Kentucky Lawyer Suspended

Louisville, Kentucky}...The Kentucky Supreme Court has suspended attorney James A. Earhart of Louisville for 30 days after Indiana Supreme Court Justices found Earhart took a $10,000 fee from a client who killed himself shortly after hiring him. Indiana officials found that Earhart's refusal to return the funds to the man's widow amounted to unethical behavior because the money had not been earned. Kentucky's Supreme Court imposed the suspension under a reciprocal agreement with Indiana. Earhart is representing Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, an Iraqi national charged with attempting to provide support to a terrorist organization. He also represented Karen Sypher, who is serving a seven-year sentence after being convicted of trying to extort University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.