Blind lawyer ruled competent to stand trial in fraud case
The National Law Journal
Leigh Jones, Staff reporter
April 29, 2008
Blind lawyer ruled competent to stand trial in fraud case
A federal judge in Louisiana has ruled that Barry Scheur, a managed care
executive who is an attorney and is blind, is competent to stand trial
in the government's case that alleges fraud and conspiracy in the
management of a now-defunct health insurer.
Scheur, a Yale Law School graduate and former partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb,
Leiby & MacRae, along with two other former executives are charged with
unlawfully paying themselves $6.1 million and misleading the Louisiana
Department of Insurance into believing that the insurer, The Oath for
Louisiana, was operating in the black.
Scheur's attorney, James A. Brown, a partner with Liskow & Lewis in New
Orleans, had argued that Scheur was unable to read and comprehend the
financial statements that are the heart of the government's case.
"He has been totally blind since birth," Brown said. "He is not in a
position to assimilate these financial statements." U.S. District Judge
Eldon Fallon, in the Eastern District of Louisiana was not persuaded.
"Scheur began his career by working for several law firms before
accepting an in-house counsel position with a healthcare organization,"
the judge wrote. "Indeed, Scheur has touted himself as a "managed care
iconoclast.'" The judge determined that Scheur can use his hand-held
Braille computer at trial and can use Braille documents during the
course of his testimony.
The trial is scheduled to begin April 30.
Leigh Jones, Staff reporter
April 29, 2008
Blind lawyer ruled competent to stand trial in fraud case
A federal judge in Louisiana has ruled that Barry Scheur, a managed care
executive who is an attorney and is blind, is competent to stand trial
in the government's case that alleges fraud and conspiracy in the
management of a now-defunct health insurer.
Scheur, a Yale Law School graduate and former partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb,
Leiby & MacRae, along with two other former executives are charged with
unlawfully paying themselves $6.1 million and misleading the Louisiana
Department of Insurance into believing that the insurer, The Oath for
Louisiana, was operating in the black.
Scheur's attorney, James A. Brown, a partner with Liskow & Lewis in New
Orleans, had argued that Scheur was unable to read and comprehend the
financial statements that are the heart of the government's case.
"He has been totally blind since birth," Brown said. "He is not in a
position to assimilate these financial statements." U.S. District Judge
Eldon Fallon, in the Eastern District of Louisiana was not persuaded.
"Scheur began his career by working for several law firms before
accepting an in-house counsel position with a healthcare organization,"
the judge wrote. "Indeed, Scheur has touted himself as a "managed care
iconoclast.'" The judge determined that Scheur can use his hand-held
Braille computer at trial and can use Braille documents during the
course of his testimony.
The trial is scheduled to begin April 30.