News Archive

IU McKinney’s Rural Justice Initiative has sent its sixth cohort of students across Indiana to work during summer 2024. Four students are new to the program and one took part the previous year. All agreed to share their motivations for wanting to take part in the program and what they’ve learned. Here are their responses:

Jerrick Adams is a 3L who worked with Huntington County judges during summer 2023, including Judge Jennifer Newton, J.D. ’02; and Judge Davin Smith, J.D. ’03. “I couldn’t have asked for a better experience than I had last summer,” Adams said. “I learned so much more than I ever dared to hope.”

Adams is back in Huntington County for summer 2024 working with Prosecutor Jeremy Nix. His goals for this summer are to understand the challenges faced by rural courts and prosecutors and to learn more about the nuts and bolts of prosecution, he said.

Adams lives in Huntington County and plans to practice law there when he completes his legal education. Asked what he wishes those who live in Indiana’s urban areas knew about the more rural parts of the state, he said “Our rural areas are marked by a diversity and depth of experience that often go unnoticed by folks from urban areas. Spend a day in a rural courthouse and you'll see ample evidence of that fact.”

Jackson Baldwin is a 2L from Posey County, where he is spending his summer as part of the Rural Justice Initiative. Baldwin said he became interested in studying law during an undergraduate course that focused on the history of voting rights. “It is difficult to explain how demanding and rewarding law school has been for me,” Baldwin said. “It has been very challenging to meet the lofty expectations my professors and I have set for myself, but I find the work to be exciting and the sense of accomplishment I feel from a job well done is unparalleled.”

Baldwin wanted to spend his summer in Posey County. He is working with Judge Travis Clowers. “I wanted to serve my community and learn more about the potential career opportunities there,” Baldwin said. “Being able to provide legal services to a rural community is a unique privilege I do not take lightly, and this program has allowed me to learn about different ways in which I can do so.”

Trevor Billings knows about the pace of a life in Indiana’s rural communities. He’s a 2L who grew up in Crawfordsville and now lives in Putnam County. Billings is spending his summer working with Putnam County Judge Matthew Headley. “I’ve been living here since the pandemic,” he said,” and the small-town charm has got me under its spell.”

Billings said he wasn’t aware of the lawyer shortage in Indiana’s rural communities before learning about it in law school. “You don't really pay attention to how far away the fire department is until your house catches fire,” Billings said.” In light of the need, I hope to practice rurally, and this internship is a great introduction to the world I'm hoping to join. Despite the data saying some 40 lawyers work in Putnam County, I've seen only a dozen regulars, and the judges and deputy prosecutors make up half of that. Aside from just all the local connections I'm gaining, I am also learning a lot about the law, litigation, and courtroom conduct due to the wide variety of cases the judge oversees.”

Chris McDaniel is a 2L who grew up in Lebanon, Indiana, during a time when Boone County was considered rural. He’s working with Judge Daniel Petrie, J.D. ’10, in Montgomery County. McDaniel served four years in the U.S. Army then enrolled at IU Indianapolis, earning a Bachelor of Science in criminology. He earned a master’s degree in criminology at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and worked as a crime analyst before working as a police officer in Jennings, Missouri, a town adjacent to Ferguson, Missouri.

“Working in that community, always reminded me in a lot of ways of where I grew up,” McDaniel said. “High rates of intergenerational poverty. Many people had given up on improving their circumstances. Drug use was fairly common. Mental illness goes untreated. There is a lot of need and that overwhelms potential support. What I noticed in my town growing up, the problems existed but often there was a complete lack of resources. As I read about the current shortage, I feel called to return to this type of setting to help.”

Hallie Stallings is a 2L who is originally from Carmel and says she has close family ties to communities that are part of the Rural Justice Initiative. She’s working in Clinton County with Judge Bradley Mohler, J.D. ’97.

“I think there is immeasurable educational value in immersing myself in a rural community so that I can better understand the trends, challenges, and changes that are currently happening in rural law,” Stallings said. “And, if I end up practicing in a rural community myself, I want to understand and be able to fully empathize with my neighbors. Another excellent benefit of the Rural Justice Initiative, which I did not know before starting this program, is that attorneys in rural communities often have more general practices. Combined with my position in the courtroom shadowing Judge Mohler, that means that I get a thousand-foot view of many areas of law, from criminal and family law to estates to contract disputes.”