News Archive

Indianapolis television news station WRTV has done an investigative series into the attorney shortage in Indiana and the stories feature many of IU McKinney’s alumni, faculty, and students.

The first segment notes that the national average is four lawyers for every 1,000 residents. Indiana has 2.3 lawyers for every 1,000 residents. IU McKinney student Thomas Estabrook is interviewed in this story. He enrolled at IU McKinney because there are no lawyers in Bicknell, Indiana, in Knox County, where he lives and has served as the mayor for the last seven years. Mayor Estabrook is interviewed in Bicknell and at IU McKinney during the story. The report also features an interview with Brent Eaton, J.D. ‘00, who is the prosecutor in Hancock County. There are seven prosecutors in the office and a budget for eight, but the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council says the county needs 12 to be adequately staffed.

Marion County public defender Lucy Frick, J.D. ‘15, is interviewed in the second segment. She’s juggling 55 cases right now, and many of her colleagues have even more, she said in the story. The county has 150 public defenders but should have 185 to be fully staffed. Chief Public Defender Bob Hill, J.D. ’82, said one of the attorneys has 70 active major felony cases. Defense attorneys in counties with too few lawyers spoke about distributing cases to lawyers in other parts of Indiana. Bargersville-based attorney Stacy Uliana, J.D. ’97, speaks in the story about the five cases from Vanderburgh County she is currently working on. Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Melissa May, J.D. ’84, talked about people facing criminal charges representing themselves out of frustration with the criminal justice system. Those who are self-represented slow the process even further because judges need to take more time with them, she said.

IU McKinney’s Supporting Rural Justice Initiative features prominently in the final segment in the series. Mario Reyes, a 2L, was interviewed and talked about his work in White County during summer 2023. Professor Joel Schumm, J.D. ’98, talks about the importance of the initiative and the law school’s hybrid program which only requires part-time evening division students to attend in-person classes twice a week. Uliana talks about the need for the state to re-evaluate the cases it prosecutes, and the segment concludes with possible solutions to the state’s attorney shortage.

The Supporting Rural Justice Initiative began in 2019 at IU McKinney. That year, students were placed with judges in rural counties, but the program has since expanded to include placement of rising third-year students as certified legal interns with prosecutor and public defender offices in rural counties. Law students commit to working at least 200 hours for which they receive three experiential learning credits and a $4,000 stipend. The IU Maurer School of Law also has a Supporting Rural Justice Initiative program.

In the photo are some of the IU McKinney students who took part in the Supporting Rural Justice Initiative during summer 2023. From left are Nathan Lundy, Alexa Campbell, Shelby Rice, Professor Joel Schumm, Indiana Supreme Court Justice Christopher Goff, Mario Reyes, and Jerrick Adams.