INDIANAPOLIS – The judge who presided over Attorney General Curtis Hill's disciplinary hearing recommended Friday that his law license be suspended for 60 days without automatic reinstatement.

Judge Myra Selby said Hill's conduct “was offensive, invasive, damaging and embarrassing” to the four women who brought the allegations and that he “used his state office staff and others to engage in a public campaign to defend himself and intimidate the complainants.”

The recommendation is not binding. The Indiana Supreme Court ultimately will decide whether Hill committed attorney misconduct and what, if anything, his punishment will be.

Hill is accused of groping four women at a March 2018 post-legislative party at an Indianapolis bar. One was a female legislator and the three others were staffers. A special prosecutor chose not to file criminal charges against Hill, who also faces a federal lawsuit.

Selby presided over a four-day hearing in October in the disciplinary case, and both sides tendered findings to the judge. Hill's attorneys argued the case should be dismissed, while the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission pushed for a two-year suspension.

The judge issued a report Friday that said although there was testimony characterizing Hill as a gregarious person who regularly made physical contact with people when talking with them, there was also credible testimony from the four women that he touched them and made sexual comments and that the touching and comments were unwelcome.

She said Hill's conduct both before and after the post-legislative party “has caused injury to the four women” and has had “an adverse impact on the public's perception of our State's executive branch and on the profession.”

If Hill's license is suspended, it puts in jeopardy his ability to continue as attorney general. He is also seeking reelection and will face two Republican opponents at the GOP convention scheduled for June.

The law isn't clear on whether a license suspension would count as a vacancy in the office, which Gov. Eric Holcomb would fill. The length of any suspension would be key in determining whether or not Hill would simply be suspended without pay but not lose his elected post. If the suspension is without automatic reinstatement – as suggested – it could mean he would be without a license for more than two months.

Selby found that the disciplinary commission did not prove by clear and convincing evidence that Hill committed misdemeanor battery. But she said he still engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, in violation of Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct.

“The evidence establishes that Respondent took part in a long orchestrated campaign to defend himself. This campaign used incendiary language that attempted to cast doubt not only on the four women's allegations but on their motivations for making the allegations,” the judge found.

“The evidence also establishes that at no point during this campaign did Respondent urge his team to exercise caution or show respect toward the women, nor did he express concern about any potential impact his response may have on them.”

Hill's attorneys had argued in post-hearing briefs that nothing Hill did was done in the course of being a lawyer and so can't be used to sanction his license.

“It would appear that a lawyer's non-violent conduct in a bar ... does not reflect adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects. Likewise, it would appear that a lawyer's conduct in a bar does not have any direct bearing on the administration of justice and therefore would not be prejudicial to the administration of justice,” the court records said.

But Selby disagreed, saying Hill was acting as attorney general of the state while he was at the party, which she called a private, work-related event.

“Although there was no official publication of the event or a business agenda, there was consistent testimony at the hearing that the important business of developing and nurturing goodwill by and between legislators, legislative staff and lobbyists occurs at the party,” her report said.

Hill hadn't planned on attending until invited by a lobbyist that evening, but she said Hill “went to the party intending to conduct some business with key legislators about a bill that concerned the Office of Attorney General.”

Attorneys for the four women issued a statement on their behalf, saying they respected the recommendation.

“We were pleased that Hill's improper conduct was taken seriously,” the statement reads. “We hope, at a minimum, the Indiana Supreme Court adopts this suggested discipline. Hill's ethics as the state's highest legal officer affect us all. We'll continue to move forward with the civil lawsuit against Curtis Hill and the State of Indiana.”

Calls and emails seeking comment from Hill were not immediately returned Friday.

nkelly@jg.net