Jim McNew dies; he is remembered as a dedicated defense attorney

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GREENFIELD — James McNew had a deep passion for both his clients and the law, colleagues closest to him say. The longtime Greenfield attorney died Friday at age 69 after a battle with cancer.

McNew joined the Greenfield law firm Allen Wellman McNew Harvey LLP in 1989 and became partner a few years later. He came from Lake County, where he had been a successful chief deputy prosecutor for most of the 1980s, said Kevin Harvey, partner with the firm. McNew focused mainly on criminal defense cases and represented clients in Hancock County’s Drug Court for several years.

“We’re deeply saddened by his passing,” Harvey said. “He meant a lot to us as an attorney and as a person.”

McNew came to Greenfield through his friendship with Dawn Wellman, the current managing partner for Allen Wellman McNew Harvey. Wellman had also practiced law in Lake County. The firm at the time needed to bolster its criminal defense practice, Harvey recalled.

In the mid-1980s, McNew prosecuted a defendant in the murder of 78-year-old Ruth Pelke in Lake County. Paula Cooper, the defendant, was sentenced to Death Row at the age of 16, the youngest person to receive the death penalty in the state. The case drew international attention — including from Pope John Paul II — and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the death sentence in 1988, ruling it was unconstitutional to execute anyone younger than 16 at the time of the crime. Indiana later raised its death penalty age to 18.

In McNew’s nearly 30 years as an attorney in Hancock County, Harvey said he will best be remembered as a “strong mentor” for young criminal defense attorneys and his commitment to defending his clients well.

Earlier this year, the Hancock County Bar Association honored McNew with the James L. Brand Trial Advocate Award.

Hancock County Circuit Judge Scott Sirk said McNew was an “outstanding defense attorney.” Sirk said he tried a case against McNew many years ago — and lost.

“He ‘out-lawyered’ me,” Sirk said.

More recently, Sirk presided over drug court cases McNew worked in circuit court. McNew defended all drug court clients in the county for several years, Sirk said.

“He was a top-notch lawyer, and he cared about the law,” Sirk said. “That was his life’s work.”

Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton also worked closely with McNew on drug court cases and said it was apparent McNew had compassion for his clients and wanted them to achieve sobriety.

While Eaton and McNew served on opposite sides of the courtroom, as prosecutor and defense attorney, Eaton said he admired McNew’s dedication to the criminal justice system and drive for fairness in trials.

“His passion for that was always genuine and sincere and came through,” Eaton said.

More than 10 years ago, after Eaton left the prosecutor’s office for a period of time, he stopped by Starbucks for coffee. When he was about to pay, the employee at the drive-thru window told him another customer had paid for his drink. It was McNew.

“Obviously Jim, and I had tangled in court before and over different things at different times,” he said, “but that meant a lot to me.”

McNew worked “behind the scenes” as an attorney, Eaton said. He once volunteered as a “bad guy” during a police training exercise, Eaton said, and McNew would also serve as judge pro tem when a judge was absent. Eaton said McNew was a favorite substitute judge among county prosecutors.

“It’s a large loss not only for the legal profession, but the greater Hancock County community. I know we’ll miss him,” Eaton said. “He had his hand on the pulse of the justice system.”