Curtis Theophilus Hill Jr. is an American prosecutor who has served as the 43rd Attorney General of Indiana since 2017. A Republican, he took office on January 9, 2017.
A graduate of Indiana University and Indiana University School of Law, Hill was a lawyer in private practice and part-time prosecutor until 2002, when he was elected Elkhart County prosecutor. He was reelected to the post, ultimately serving four terms before his election as state attorney general. In 2018, Hill was accused of sexual misconduct by four women, prompting calls for his resignation. Hill has denied the allegations.
Video Curtis Hill
Early life and education
Hill grew up in Elkhart, Indiana, the youngest son of Curtis Hill Sr. (a postal worker and civil rights activist) and Eleanor (a cosmetologist). Hill studied business at Indiana University and received his law degree from Indiana University School of Law.
Maps Curtis Hill
Legal career
Hill was a lawyer in private practice and a part-time prosecutor until 2002, when he was elected as county prosecutor for Elkhart County in Northern Indiana. Hill was re-elected to a further three terms. Like all Elkhart County prosecutors since 1938, Hill was elected as a Republican. Hill was recruited by National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Tom Cole to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, but he declined to run.
Indiana Attorney General
Campaign
In 2016, Hill ran as a Republican for Indiana attorney general, seeking to succeed Greg Zoeller, who did not seek reelection. Hill ran against former Lake County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo, the Democratic nominee. Hill significantly outspent Arredondo in the race.
On November 8, 2016, Hill defeated Arredondo, receiving 1,643,689 votes (61.94%) to Arredondo's 994,085 votes (38.06%).
Tenure
Hill is the first African American man to become Indiana Attorney General.
As attorney general, Hill was viewed as a a rising star within the Republican Party. He has frequently tweeted on national issues, and was speculated as a potential future candidate for U.S. Senate. As attorney general, Hill promoted conservative, and particularly socially conservative, policies. He opposed efforts to downplay opposition to same-sex marriage in the state Republican Party's platform. Hill also met with President Donald Trump at the White House on at least four occasions to discuss various issues. Hill opposes the legalization of marijuana in Indiana and medical marijuana; in November 2017, Hill issued an official advisory opinion declaring the use of cannabidiol oil illegal in Indiana. Although an state law passed in April 2018 legalized the possession and use of a particular cannabidiol oil by persons registered with the Indiana Department of Health, Hill determinated that the selling or distributing CBD oil was still illegal "under any circumstances, and even individuals entitled to use CBD oil under state law still are prohibited by federal law from doing so." The following year, the Indiana General Assembly overruled Hill's opinion, passing new legislation reaffirming and expanding CBD's legality in Indiana; the bill was passed 97-0 in the House and 36-11 in the Senate and was signed into law by Governor Eric Holcomb.
Hill strongly opposes needle exchange programs, and successfully pressured Madison County to halt its program. He favors harsher penalties for drug offenses, and supported the use of civil forfeiture. In 2017, Hill filed an appeal from a U.S. district court decision holding that Indiana's forfeiture law was a violation of the U.S. Constitution's due process clause. In 2017, Hill joined with other conservative attorneys general in a filing in the U.S. Supreme Court defending "stop-and-frisk" programs from constitutional challenge.
In August 2017, Hill was criticized by some state legislators for spending $279,000 in state funds for renovations to his office at the Indiana State House, and for spending almost $31,000 in state funds for the purchase of a large passenger van to serve as a a mobile office. Hill's office defended the expenditures.
As attorney general, Hill is leading a 17-state lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, seeking to strike down a Massachusetts state animal welfare law that would require eggs, pork and veal sold in Massachusetts "to come from animals raised with room to lie down and turn around without touching an enclosure" beginning in 2022. Under Hill, Indiana also sued California over a law that bars eggs sold in California from coming from battery cage hens.
In 2018, Hill filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, seeking to challenge a settlement between the Marion County Sheriff's Office and American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana that stopped the county from detaining people in Indianapolis based only on federal immigration agency requests and without a warrant or probable cause. Hill asserted that the settlement would endanger public safety.
Hill opposes the adoption of hate-crime laws (Indiana is one of five U.S. states without such laws). In 2017, Hill staked out a public position regarding athletes who have protested police violence against black citizens. In an essay distributed to news outlets, Hill criticizing the players' methods and message, writing that the number of instances of police brutality "is but a fraction of the number of black people murdered by black people" and that "(black-on-black violence) deserves the attention of every American."
Sexual harassment allegations
In 2018, Hill was accused by multiple women of inappropriate sexual behavior in March 2018. Four women have accused Hill of groping them during a party at a bar on the last night of the Indiana General Assembly session, prompting an investigation by the Indiana Inspector General. At the request of General Assembly leadership, a law firm prepared a confidential memorandum dated June 2018 that summarized interviews with the woman; the memo was obtained by The Indianapolis Star and made public the following month. Of the four women, three have publicly come forward--State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon and two legislative staffers.
The accusations against Hill prompted calls for his resignation from top elected officials in the state, including fellow Republicans, such as Governor Eric Holcomb, House Speaker Brian Bosma, and Senate leader David C. Long. Hill said he would not resign, and denied allegations of misconduct.
Personal life
Hill is married; he and his wife Teresa have five children.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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