Judicial community celebrates retirement of Court of Appeals Judge Riley

Photo credit: Larry Seidler

Judges, colleagues, and loved ones from across the state and beyond gathered in the Indiana Statehouse on Friday to celebrate the retirement of Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Riley.

Riley, a native of Rensselaer, was named to the court in January 1994.

A 1974 graduate of the Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis, Riley held various positions in her practice of law before joining the appeals court, including serving as Deputy Prosecutor in Marion County and as a public defender in both Marion and Jasper counties.

It’s Riley’s heart for people and the law that colleagues and friends found most endearing during her career.

“In a world that’s often defined by limitations, she saw possibilities,” said Anika Calloway, one of Riley’s former law clerks. “In a society where conformity was the norm, she celebrated individuality. She challenged stereotypes by actively questioning and refuting biases and built inclusive teams by prioritizing diversity in hiring and team composition.”

Her passion for equality in law took root in law school, when Riley and other women pursuing the career were told there was no place for them in the profession, Riley’s friend and former classmate, Linda Pence, said.

Upon first applying to law school, Riley recalled waiting awhile to hear back about being admitted. When she was finally accepted, the dean at the time said she was brought in to fill a quota.

Pence disagrees.

“We were as qualified and often more so than the men,” Pence said. “Other qualified and clearly superior women had been refused admission for centuries. Quota was something that was earned, and we have fought and fought and earned that place to fill our law schools as they are now.”

Beyond her impact in Indiana, Riley made strides to support varying populations suffering from injustice and hardship across the globe.

In 2008, following a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, Riley co-founded the Legal Aid Clinic of Eldoret, Kenya. After learning about the severe trials Kenyan women and children face affected by HIV and AIDs, Riley helped establish LACE to provide legal access to these patients.

Through her work in Kenya, Riley earned the nickname “Gogo”, which means grandmother in the African language Kalenjin, fellow Court of Appeals Judge Dana Kenworthy said.

That nickname has since caught on for her grandchildren, who use that same nickname because she’s always on the go.

During her speech, Riley stressed the importance of mentorship, and how it’s important for her grandchildren and other kids to see women in positions of power.

“I wanted my granddaughter here. She’s only four but she’ll remember parts of this,” Riley said. “But I wanted her to see all these women in robes and to know that we are sitting up here on the bench and that we’re strong people.”

Throughout her career, despite resistance to the idea of a women in law, Riley has persevered, paving a way for successors to achieve all she has and more. Her response to the pushback?

“If you want a woman to do something, just tell her what she can’t do,” she said.