Indiana Supreme Court declines to say whether Holcomb can appoint AG replacement

The Indiana Supreme Court will not weigh in on whether Gov. Eric Holcomb can appoint a replacement attorney general during Curtis Hill’s temporary law license suspension.

Holcomb, a Republican, asked the court last week to clarify whether Hill would lose his elected position as state government’s top lawyer when his 30-day suspension took effect on Monday.

State law requires the attorney general to be “duly licensed to practice law in Indiana,” but it doesn’t specify whether the person can continue serving under a temporary suspension.

Lawyers for Hill, who is also a Republican, argued he has the right to remain in office during the temporary suspension.

The Supreme Court issued a decision Monday afternoon saying it would not rule on whether Hill is still considered to be “duly licensed to practice law” during the suspension or whether the suspension created a vacancy in the office that Holcomb could appoint someone to fill.

“These issues were not litigated by the parties and are extraneous to our disciplinary opinion, making intervention inappropriate,” Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote in the ruling, to which all the justices concurred.

The Supreme Court issued a decision a week ago finding Hill guilty of misdemeanor battery and two related violations of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct for drunkenly groping four women, including a state lawmaker, at a March 2018 legislative party.

His license will be automatically reinstated after the 30-day period, provided no other suspensions are in effect.

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission brought the ethical charges against Hill—who is in the midst of a re-election campaign—in March 2019, and a four-day evidentiary hearing was held in October.

The Disciplinary Commission had recommended that Hill serve a two-year suspension without automatic reinstatement, while the hearing officer and former Justice Myra Selby recommended a 60-day suspension without automatic reinstatement.

Hill has said he “accepts with humility and respect” the license suspension decision from the Supreme Court. He has denied any wrongdoing.

He announced on May 11 that Chief Deputy Aaron Negangard would take over the office during his suspension. But, the next day, Holcomb’s office filed an emergency motion to intervene and request a clarification on the disciplinary order.

“With the Supreme Court’s decision to suspend the Attorney General for 30 days, my judicial inquiry was to, one, determine if that suspension created a vacancy and, two, if so, what was my constitutional and statutory responsibility to fill that vacancy,” Holcomb said Monday in a written statement. “With those two questions left unanswered, there is no further action on my part.”

During the last General Assembly, Indiana House Republicans sought to clarify state law with language that would have required the attorney general to forfeit the office if he or she were disbarred from or suspended from practicing law for 30 or more days. Proposed legislation said such a forfeiture would create a vacancy in the office, which would be filled by the governor.

Holcomb had said he would have signed the bill into law, but it died on the last night of the legislative session.