Dan Carden, writing for NWI.com, has a new story about the Attorney General Curtis Hill groping scandal that Tony Cook, Ryan Martin, and Kaitlin Lange initially broke for the Indy Star. The story is that Hill came into AJ’s Bar after sine die where legislative types were having an end-of-session celebration. According to the memo prepared by a law firm that investigated the complaint for the General Assembly, Hill was described as “very intoxicated.” While there, Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon says that Hill groped her. Specifically, she says:
He greeted me and the staffer that was with me. While I do not know him personally, we had met before. As we were exchanging pleasantries, Curtis Hill leaned toward me as if he could not hear me and placed his hand on my back and slid his hand down to my buttocks and grabbed it. I said “back off,” and walked away, as the staffer with me stood shocked.
Later in the evening, I was standing with a group of people, and he approached the group. Hill came up behind me and put his hand on my back again and said, “That skin. That back.” I recoiled away before he could touch my buttocks again.
Hill has not said what, if any, part of Rep. Reardon’s account is false.
Niki DaSilva is a staffer for the Indiana Republican Senate Caucus. She says that Hill groped her and told her she had to show a little skin to get service at the bar. Specifically, she says:
Attorney General Hill seemed rather gregarious that night and asked us what we were doing standing at the bar.
We answered that we were waiting to order a drink and Attorney General Hill, without hesitation, remarked, “Ah, come on ladies! You haven’t figured out how to get a drink yet? You’ve got to show a little skin!”
. . .
[A]ttorney General Hill put his hand on my back. I was taken aback by this gesture as we had never held a conversation before that night. I felt his hand start to slide slowly down my back.
I didn’t want to bring attention to his actions, so I tried to push his hand away inconspicuously using my free hand.
When our hands met, instead of taking this nudge as a cue to remove his hand from my lower back, he grabbed my hand and moved both of our hands over my butt, lingering there before releasing me.
Hill has not said what, if any, part of DaSilva’s account is false.
Gabrielle McLemore is the Communications Director for the Indiana Senate Democrats. She says Hill cornered her and rubbed her back. Specifically, she says:
“Do you know who I am?”
That’s what he said when he pulled a stool up next to me and forced me to move uncomfortably closer to the bar’s ledge on my right with people both in front and behind me. I was cornered by Indiana’s attorney general, who I had never previously met, and he began rubbing my back.
McLemore appears to be “Legislative Employee B” from the investigative memo. According to the memo the back rubbing went on for about two minutes. Hill has not said what, if any, part of McLemore’s account is false.
The investigative memo talks about another staffer who alleges that Hill hugged her at the bar in an inappropriate fashion and a couple of others who witnessed him talking about how they should show some skin to get faster service at the bar.
Hill’s initial response was:
“I have never been contacted by any investigator,” he said. “I have not been informed of who made these allegations nor have I been provided any due process with regard to these vicious allegations.”
Generally, he seems to be saying that the claims are false, that he was never given an opportunity to present his side of the story, and he has not been afforded due process. However, since the story broke, Hill has not — at least so far as I’ve been able to tell — explained his side of the story. And there doesn’t seem to be any process which he regards as satisfactory. Per the most recent Carden story, Hill’s lawyers are challenging the efforts of the Marion County prosecutor to have a special prosecutor appointed. Previously, Hill had demanded that Marion County Prosecutor, Terry Curry, spearhead an independent investigation. Curry demurred because his office is represented in ongoing litigation by the Attorney General’s office. But, he did request the special prosecutor. Hill’s lawyers are also challenging the propriety of an investigation by the Inspector General. They cite some statutory scope of authority concerns, but Hill’s initial objection to the IG’s investigation was that Gov. Holcomb appoints the Inspector General and Holcomb has already called for Hill’s resignation. [Side note: It might be amusing for a lawmaker to request an Attorney General’s opinion on what sort of legal process is appropriate for a hypothetical situation that looks a lot like this one.]
If this is all just a big set up and all of these women are lying, then Hill’s response would be appropriate. If Hill went to the bar, was mostly sober, kept his hands to himself, and then left, he would have every right to be pissed off about this whole thing. But, he hasn’t said that’s what happened, and I’m not particularly inclined to believe that all these women are lying. I’m no political adviser, but it seems to me that had he said, “I drank too much, acted inappropriately, and I apologize” — maybe followed by seeking treatment through JLAP (Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program) or some other substance abuse treatment provider — I think he could weather this particular storm. Instead, he has opted for a Trumpian attack strategy. And, I guess it’s paying off in some circles. Cook, Lange, Martin, and Shari Rudavsky, writing for the Indy Star, say that the pastor at Hill’s Church in Elkhart, Indiana is attempting to rally the congregation in support of Hill — drawing parallels between Hill and Christian martyrs, particularly the arrest of Peter and the martyrdom of Stephen. “Satan is at work and there’s a real war going on. He’s trying to discourage our brother Curtis,” says pastor Phil Byers. (Herod arrested Peter for being a member of the Christian church, and Stephen was martyred in connection with an internecine dispute about whether Stephen’s message about Christianity was contrary to Mosaic law. Neither, to my knowledge, was accused of being drunk and handsy in a bar.) This strategy could work, of course. Inciting tribal passions is a good way to get people to overlook misbehavior that they would not otherwise excuse.
“This strategy could work, of course. Inciting tribal passions is a good way to get people to overlook misbehavior that they would not otherwise excuse.”
Gee, I wonder where he could have picked up this strategy. There cannot be much political juice behind one church congregation. In fact, it just makes the pastor look rather comical with his atavastic connections back to early christianity.
Your suggested approach to a “heartfealt” apology along with JLAP and counseling on sexual harrassment might have saved him. He had not merely bitten that hand that feeds me, he is trying to gnaw it off.
Maybe the minister hasn’t checked out chapter 4 of I Peter, talking to the Christians suffering persecution: “If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble or prying into other people’s affairs.” In this, case is anyone interested in starting a pool as to how many days this guy will “suffer” this “persecution”?
The pastor is right, Satan is at work … he apparently led Curtis to get drunk and handsy at a bar. And they wonder why church attendance is plummeting…
This morning, Brian Howey observed that this whole mess “exposes yawning double standards. Holcomb, Crouch and other insist there is ‘zero tolerance’ for any kind of sexual harassment. Yet the leader of thier party, President Trump, has been accused by at least 11 women for an array of horndog incidents.” Maybe the Republicans need to make sure that their “true believers” are also committed to other standards.
Oops. It’s “their”, not “thier”. Pardon the error. It was mine, not Howey’s.
I don’t think the “apologize, seek counseling, blame the booze” strategy is likely to work anymore for recent transgressions. While that might get someone by for transgressions that happened years ago, in the age of “#metoo” we are expected to know better.
I think Hill’s two choices are to brazen it out, or to fold his tent and go home. It’s clear he’s made his decision.
Hill is leading with his chin. Hill is considering filing a defamation suit against his accusers. From the IBJ today. https://www.ibj.com/articles/69684-ag-curtis-hill-preparing-to-sue-for-defamation-lawyers-say?utm_source=ibj-daily&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2018-07-18
“Attorneys from Indianapolis law firm Betz & Blevins, who are representing Hill in civil matters, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday morning that they believe certain parts of the memo are false because some of the women who have come forward have made contradictory public statements.
For example, the memo says Hill slid his hand under Reardon’s clothing and grabbed her buttocks, but Reardon’s published account of the night does not say his hand went under her clothes.
“That is false and malicious,” attorney Kevin Betz said.
But Betz said they are not accusing the women of lying. They also aren’t claiming Hill is innocent of any wrongdoing. Hill has repeatedly denied the accusations and ignored calls to step down.
“Sometimes no one is wrong (and) no one is right,” Betz said. “That is something that no one has considered, and it does occur in these situations.”
The accusers aren’t lying. And Hill is not denying his wrongdoing. There won’t be much to talk about in the lawsuit. Except maybe sanctions against Hill and his lawyers.
Right now, it’s Schrodinger’s grope, I guess. They’re not saying he did it, but they’re not saying he didn’t do it either.
Maybe Hill thinks he can collapse the feline superposition and get shunted off into another of the multiverses. Thinking this out further, Hill is likely throwing tout his baseless defamation lawsuit to build a strategy in any criminal prosecution brought against him. Criminal lawyers seize on any discrepancy to undermine witnesses. Hill and his lawyers cannot think that they can maintain a defamation action. Hill must deny that it happened to maintain a case. At that point he perjures himself. Also, some culpable mental state must be found to exist with the accusers. Finally, Hill is a public official and I think that the claim can only be maintained if there is actual malice on the part of the accusers. And the coup de grace, truth is the ultimate defense. It would be interesting to hear what other criminal lawyers and attorneys that work on defamation cases have to say about this.
There are some places where you don’t want to go, but if your name is Curtis Hill, I guess you go there.
Things look even worse for Hill. He has majorly lawyered up, hiring Jimmy Voyles (top line Indiana criminal attorney) to defend him in. I wonder how Hill can come up with the money to pay Voyles. He could not have saved that much money as a prosecutor with three or four kids.You know what they say about Karma. And we have all heard the old legal saw that it is better to pay the two dollars.
https://www.theindianalawyer.com/…/47768-legal-defense-fund…
Hill has never denied the allegations. Here is what former appellate court judge Linda Chezem said:
At the July 23 press conference, Chezem challenged the accusations that Hill groped the women. She said under Indiana law, touching another person is not inappropriate behavior unless it is rude, angry or insolent. Without more, touching by itself is not sexual assault or harassment.
She also pointed to differences between what some of the women told the legislators who initially investigated the allegations and the statements they made to the press.
“Curtis Hill responded to these allegations the only way he could: he denied inappropriate behavior, and the accusations have become a moving target,” Chezem said.
A former court of appeals judge does not think groping a woman is not a rude or insolent is a touching that will not amount to battery.
Cheezem and an activist lawyer have also established a non-profit “defense fund” for Hill, “Fairness” for Curtis Hill, a legal defense fund. They are attempting to establish this as a non-profit entity, even though non-profit attorneys think that such a non-profit fund will not be permitted by law.
If you follow Hill’s behavior, he is acting in a manner such of that as a high profile criminal or criminal defense attorney. Never denying the truth of the accusation and setting himself up for a perjury charge while undermining the charges and the witnesses with tangential matters.
Hill knows this will go to trial for battery and he will be pressed to the wall.
The thing is that the women weren’t really making a criminal complaint against him. They were saying he touched them in a way that he shouldn’t have. He or his defenders might claim some sort of exoneration if a criminal conviction isn’t forthcoming, but that’s not really what this was about. And, at least so far, he hasn’t denied touching them or, alternatively, explained how any touching he did was done in a way that was appropriate.
The Hill allegations did not begin with a criminal complaint. In the initial investigation, the victims said they were satisfied with the investigation. They probably assumed because legislative and Republican Party leaders demanded that Hill stepped down, it would end there. But as this matter moves along, Hill keeps anteing up.
This is the latest development. From the IBJ and Indiana Lawyer.
Opposition is rising to embattled Attorney General Curtis Hill’s move to block expanded early voting in Marion County, with Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson calling Hill’s action “reckless” and urging him to drop the matter. Under state law, Lawson’s office is responsible for election oversight.
Hill’s office filed a motion Tuesday to alter or amend the federal court consent decree that establishes additional satellite early voting centers in Indianapolis for the November 2018 mid-term elections. In his court filing, he claims the agreement is contrary to Indiana law and not in the public’s interest.
“I support Marion County’s unanimous decision to adopt satellite voting. I urge Attorney General Hill to drop this,” Lawson said in a statement. “Satellite voting is a bipartisan effort and the Attorney General’s filing does not reflect the will of Marion County voters. By his reckless action, the Attorney General has disrupted more than 18 months of productive, bipartisan conversations.”
Hill’s move is reckless, but he is already driving 120 in a 40 MPH zone. And ironically, it might be counter productive to what certainly his intent to block these early voting satellite centers and depress voter turnoput. . This election will likely turn the House Blue. Much less likely the Senate. Republican voters will need all of the votes they can get.