Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
By Christopher Goff, Paganelli Law Group
After writing what he now concedes is likely the most controversial opinion of his tenure on the Indiana Supreme Court, Steven David, fair or not, endured months of harsh criticism leading up to his 2012 retention vote.
“I’ve had my fair share of tough times,” Justice David said Wednesday in a talk at IndyBarHQ. “That was very hard. It was a very personal time, very difficult.”
Aside from his wife, Catheryne, Justice David found his greatest source of support in a colleague on the court. Not just any colleague, mind you, but a justice, Robert Rucker, who had dissented from David’s 2011 majority opinion in Barnes v. State, which ruled that Hoosiers have no right to resist an unlawful entry by police.
Moral of the story: Basic civility matters. Through a judicial system that models civil disagreement and a collaborative ethos, Justice David said, Indiana “has distanced itself from most every state in the nation.”
As he took some time Wednesday to reflect on his career, an audience member asked Justice David — set to retire this fall — what he will miss most from three decades of judicial service.
“I will miss the relationships: irreplaceable relationships,” Justice David said.
In an era of intense and widespread social polarization, Indiana should be proud of a judicial system that emphasizes collegiality. It is also a reminder that we, as legal practitioners, can serve as an example to every walk of life on how to disagree and still get along.•
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.