Letter to the editor: Hill discipline recommendation raises race bias concerns

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The Indiana Disciplinary Commission’s recommended professional sanctions against Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill attests to ongoing racial disparities within the state’s legal and criminal justice system.

Lady Justice is supposed to be blind — color-blind. In Indiana however, “justice for all” distinctions still appear to be made between black and white. Blacks are disproportionally charged with more crimes than whites. Harsher sentences are pronounced for blacks than whites charged with the same level of crimes. It is evident that state attorney and disciplinary recommendations ratified by the Indiana Supreme Court are also not immune from racial bias.

The recommended punishment for Hill, a black man, serves as a testament to Indiana’s history of racial bias. The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission’s recommendation of a two-year law license suspension without automatic reinstatement for Hill stands in stark contrast to the professional disciplinary actions recently recommended and carried out against two white Clark Circuit judges. On May 1, judges Andrew Adams and Bradley Jacobs were involved in a downtown Indianapolis shooting with two other men after a night of drinking. The judges’ blood alcohol levels proved them each to be well over the legal limit for driving while intoxicated. Court records indicate that Adams and Jacobs each kicked and wrestled with two other men in an altercation before being wounded in the shooting. A grand jury charged Adams with multiple felonies and misdemeanors. Through a plea agreement, Adams pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to 365 days of jail time, all suspended.

What punitive disciplinary actions did the judges suffer for their professional misconduct and criminal charges? Through an emergency action taken in June, Judge Adams was suspended from the bench with pay. The Indiana Supreme Court rendered its final disciplinary decision against the two judges Nov. 12. Effective Nov. 12, Adams was suspended an additional 60 days without pay. He was automatically reinstated to the bench Jan. 13. Jacobs served a 30-day suspension without pay and was automatically reinstated on Dec. 23.

Hill has had no criminal charges filed against him over accusations of inappropriate touching of women at an Indianapolis bar. His alleged actions for which professional misconduct charges have been brought did not result in life-threatening injuries. Hill’s level of sobriety or drunkenness has not been established. Nonetheless, Hill might suffer far greater consequences for his alleged misconduct than the two Clark County judges. If the Indiana Supreme Court accepts the disciplinary commission’s minimum two-year suspension of the attorney general’s law license without automatic reinstatement, it will force his resignation from elected office and prevent him from earning a living within the legal profession for a greater length of time than the Clark County judges.

Light punishments for egregious actions perpetrated by white male attorneys recommended by the state disciplinary commission and approved by the Indiana Supreme Court abounded in 2019. Examples include a not-less-than-180-day suspension for a white Muncie attorney who accrued numerous professional and ethical violations over a period of years. The violations resulted in financial and legal repercussions for his clients. The attorney also failed to disclose to the disciplinary commission his conviction on counts of criminal recklessness and driving while intoxicated.

Another white male attorney for Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc. received a stayed suspension in September from the Indiana Supreme Court after an operating while intoxicated conviction stemming from a hit-and-run crash. He also had a prior OWI conviction four years prior. Though the attorney’s actions demonstrate his potential to inflict serious bodily injury or death to members of the public, the Indiana Supreme Court stayed his 90-day suspension with automatic reinstatement.

Despite the work of the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Race and Gender Fairness, racial inequities in Indiana’s justice system appear to be firmly entrenched. The commission’s objective is to “improve race and gender fairness in the courts, legal system, and state and local government, as well as among legal service providers and public organizations.” Former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Myra Selby has served as chair of the commission. Selby also served as the hearing officer assigned to Hill’s disciplinary hearing.

Selby is expected to soon recommend to the Indiana Supreme Court what discipline, if any, should be leveled against Hill. It will be incumbent upon Selby to reverse the continuum of racial discrimination in our state’s legal processes. Hill’s alleged personal transgressions must not be found to be more flagrant and more severely punished than those of white attorneys with criminal convictions. Lady Justice — a color-blind Lady Justice — must prevail in Indiana.•

— Christine Scales

Former Indianapolis City-County Councillor

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