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Cynthia Booth, Judge Carr Darden, and Kevin Muñoz were celebrated for their legal work for the public good at the 9^th annual Public Interest Recognition Dinner. Professor Florence Wagman Roisman presented the keynote address at the event, which took place on March 25 in the atrium at Inlow Hall. The event is hosted by IU McKinney and the student group, Equal Justice Works.

Professor Roisman is the William F. Harvey Professor of Law and a Chancellor’s Professor. She litigated cases involving housing and civil rights with the D.C. Neighborhood Legal Services Program, the National Housing Law Project, and the law firm of Roisman Reno & Cavanaugh. She began teaching at IU McKinney in 1997, and is the faculty advisor for Equal Justice Works.

Booth, ’91, is the executive director of Child Advocates. Booth was a music teacher before coming to law school. She began her work at Child Advocates as a part-time attorney and became director in 1996. She received the Indiana State office of Guardian ad Litem/CASA Director of the Year award in 2005, and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Honorable Viola J. Taliaferro award in 2011 for addressing the unmet legal needs of children. Booth also has received the Indianapolis Neighborhood Leadership Award, and the IBJ’s Women of Influence award.

Judge Darden, ’70, retired from the Indiana Court of Appeals in 2012, and serves as a senior judge on the Indiana Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1994. Prior to being elevated to the appellate bench, Judge Darden was a master commissioner and a presiding judge in the Marion County Municipal Court and the Marion County Superior Court systems. He also served as Indian’s Acting and Chief Deputy State Public Defender, a Marion County Public Defender, and in private practice. He has received several awards, including being named a Sagamore of the Wabash three times. Judge Darden is a member of the IU McKinney Board of Visitors.

Muñoz, ’08, worked as an elementary school advisor in Indianapolis before deciding to go to law school. He was a solo practitioner before opening his own firm, Muñoz Legal, in January 2016. The firm focuses on immigration law and criminal defense. While in law school, he worked as an intern for the Rights of Street Children in San Jose, Costa Rica, through the Program in International Human Rights Law. Muñoz continues his interest in human rights; he helped with the incorporation of the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance, and serves the group in an advisory capacity.

The event raises funds for the law school’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which assists the law school’s graduates who work in public interest with their student loan debt. In the photo from left are EJW member and master of ceremonies Areeba Ghouri, Dean Andrew R. Klein, Kevin Muñoz, Cynthia Booth, Judge Carr Darden, and EJW dinner co-chair David Frangos.