Curtis Theophilus Hill Jr.Elura Nanos, Indiana Attorney General Accused of Grabbing Women’s Buttocks , Law & Crime (July 4, 2018). (born February 21, 1961) is an American prosecutor from the Republican Party who served as the 43rd Attorney General of Indiana from 2017 to 2021.
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 from 2003 before his election as state attorney general in 2016. During his tenure, Curtis led with a conservative agenda, opposing marijuana legalization and attempting to stop restrictions from being imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2018, Hill was accused of sexual misconduct by four women, prompting calls for his resignation. Hill has denied the allegations. A subsequent investigation by a special prosecutor found the allegations credible, but also found that there was insufficient evidence to convict Hill of a crime. In 2020, in an attorney disciplinary proceeding, the Indiana Supreme Court found that he committed a misdemeanor battery in violation of rules of professional conduct, and suspended Hill's bar license for 30 days.
In July 2020, he was defeated by Todd Rokita for the Republican nomination of Indiana Attorney General. He ran for Governor of Indiana in 2024, but came in last place in the primary against U.S. Senator Mike Braun and Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch.
Early life and education Hill was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana, the youngest son of Curtis Hill Sr. (a postal worker and civil rights activist) and Eleanor (a cosmetologist).Kelly Kendall, Curtis Hill Is A Party of 1 , Indianapolis Monthly (June 2018). Hill studied business at Indiana University and received his J.D. degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
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.Rick Callahan, Indiana Attorney General race: two northern Indiana candidates , Associated Press (October 3, 2016).
On November 8, 2016, Hill defeated Arredondo, receiving 1,643,689 votes (61.94%) to Arredondo's 994,085 votes (38.06%).Indiana General Election, November 8, 2016 , Indiana Secretary of State].
Tenure Hill is the first African American man to become Indiana Attorney General.
As attorney general, Hill was viewed as 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.Tim Swarens, Curtis Hill talks pot, Elvis and a possible Senate bid , Indy Star (June 15, 2017).Indiana attorney general not ruling out GOP bid for Senate , Associated Press (August 9, 2017). 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.
Drug policy Hill opposed 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.Curtis Hill, Why I found that CBD oil is illegal , Indianapolis Star (December 14, 2017).Indiana Attorney General Official Opinion 2017-7 Re: Cannabidiol & HEA 1148 , November 21, 2017. Although a 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 determined 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."Dan Carden, Attorney general finds cannabidiol remains illegal in Indiana, despite law authorizing limited use , The Times of Northwest Indiana (November 22, 2017). 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.Dan Carden, New Indiana law clarifies that CBD oil is legal for all Hoosiers to use , The Times of Northwest Indiana (March 21, 2018).
Hill strongly opposed needle exchange programs,Mike Emery, AG Curtis Hill says Wayne County exemplifies needle exchange dangers , Richmond Palladium-Item (June 21, 2018). and successfully pressured Madison County to halt its program.Adam Wren, Does Indy Need A Needle Exchange Program? , Indianapolis Monthly (December 2017). He favored 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.
Expenditures 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 mobile office. Hill's office defended the expenditures.Tony Cook, Attorney General Curtis Hill catches heat for spending on new van, office renovations , Indy Stat (August 16, 2017).
Animal welfare and economic issues As attorney general, Hill led 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.Nick Janzen, Indiana To Fight Another Food Production Law , WFYI (December 17, 2017). Under Hill, Indiana was also one of 13 states that sued California over a law that bars eggs sold in California from coming from battery cage hens. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept original jurisdiction over both suits.David A. Lieb, US Supreme Court declines involvement in state egg law cases , Associated Press (January 8, 2019).Shira Schoenberg, US Supreme Court: States cannot sue Massachusetts in the high court over cage-free egg law , The Republican (Springfield, Mass.) (January 8, 2019).
Policing, searches and seizures, and criminal law 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.Indiana AG Challenges Settlement Over Immigration Detentions , Associated Press (January 11, 2018). Hill asserted that the settlement would endanger public safety.
Hill opposed the adoption of hate-crime laws (Indiana is one of five U.S. states without such laws). In 2019, Indiana adopted a bias-motivated crimes law, but the law's failure to list gender identity, gender, or sex as specifically protected classes prompted criticism from anti-hate groups (such as the Anti-Defamation League, which termed the omissions "unacceptable"). Hill defended the new law in an op-ed.AG Curtis Hill: New hate crimes law protects everyone , WTHR (April 9, 2019).
In 2017, Hill criticized athletes who have protested police violence against black citizens, 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."
Objection to voting rights consent decree In 2018, Hill objected to a consent decree to add additional early voting locations in Marion County. The decree, resulting from an agreement between Common Cause Indiana. the Indianapolis NAACP, and the county Election Board, resolved a voting rights lawsuit. The consent decree was approved over Hill's objections by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker, who wrote: "The state's lawyers may entertain what preferences they will, but violations of federal rights justify the imposition of federal remedies."Mark Alesia and Holly V. Hays, Judge denies Curtis Hill's challenge to agreement for early voting sites in Marion County , Indianapolis Star (August 10, 2018). Hill was criticized for his intervention in the case by Common Cause, the NAACP, and the Election Board, as well as Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson (a fellow Republican) who said that: "By his reckless action, the Attorney General has disrupted more than 18 months of productive bi-partisan conversations."Phil Cannelongo, Federal judge denies efforts by AG Curtis Hill to stop satellite voting agreement in Marion County , WTHR (August 9, 2018).Holly V. Hays, Curtis Hill draws criticism for 'reckless' challenge of early-voting case , Indianapolis Star (August 8, 2018).
COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana, when local governments imposed restrictions on the size of gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Hill sent a letter to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Marion County health department head Virginia Caine, asserting that the restrictions, when applied to religious gatherings, were unconstitutional religious discrimination. The local government disagreed with Hill's position.Crystal Hill, AG Curtis Hill to Mayor Joe Hogsett: Church restrictions are unconstitutional religious discrimination , Indianapolis Star (May 14, 2020).
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