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By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
August 30, 2024

For Judge Patricia Riley, it was the candy.

Nearly 70 years later, while sitting in her chambers at the Court of Appeals of Indiana, Riley remembered attending a parade in her hometown of Rensselaer when she was still in elementary school. People atop the colorful floats were tossing candy into the crowd. She can still see the two boys in ragged clothes running into the street and scooping most of the sweet morsels into a big paper sack and shoving some into their mouths.

Riley realized the boys were not grabbing the candy for fun; they needed something to eat. So she went into the street and helped them fill their bag.

Later that evening, she told her father what had happened and, as he usually did, he honed her debating skills by playing the devil’s advocate. The two boys should have just bought some food at the grocery, he said, or their parents should have cooked them a meal.

As her father was arguing, Riley said she felt an “angry passion” rising in her. Watching the boys grab the candy was the first time she remembered seeing the marginalized and feeling a mix of despair and compassion that comes with understanding their burden. She pushed back on her dad, asking why the boys couldn’t just have the candy that was on the ground.

“I’m not sure where it comes from,” Riley said of her angry passion, “but it must have been in my genes.”

Riley never lost her empathy for those deemed less fortunate or her angry passion for easing the hardships and heartbreaks they face daily. Even as she prepared to retire on Aug. 30 from the Court of Appeals after three decades, Riley did not opine on the judicial process or her experience of being just the fourth woman to sit on the state’s appellate bench, when she was appointed in 1994 by Gov. Evan Bayh.

Instead, she talked about her plans to leave Christmas Day to visit the Legal Aid Centre she cofounded in Eldoret, Kenya, to help HIV/AIDS patients and their families. And she spoke enthusiastically about the more time she will be spending at RecycleForce, an Indianapolis nonprofit which provides recycling services for local businesses and job training, along with emotional support, to individuals re-entering society after a period of incarceration.

While Riley looks ahead, the judiciary she leaves behind bears her influence. She was the first woman to serve as a judge on the Jasper County Superior Court although she quickly dispels any notion that she was barred from the county courthouse and forced to hear cases in an adjacent building because she was a woman.

“It was mainly because I was a Democrat,” Riley laughed.

On the Court of Appeals, she encouraged and mentored other women, and hired staff and law clerks from a broad array of backgrounds. Today, seven of the appellate court’s 15 judges are women. Also, Riley shaped Indiana law by writing about 4,232 majority opinions and participated in 439 oral arguments.

During her retirement ceremony held recently in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom, Court of Appeals Presiding Judge Robert Altice highlighted Riley’s work as a trailblazer, her fearlessness to take a stance even if it was unpopular and her empathy for those that “society could easily just set aside.” He noted her international efforts, not just in Kenya but also traveling with a delegation to observe the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, and to observe the hearings of alleged terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Altice said Riley always has a place in her heart for the underdog.

“Whether it may be more comfortable turning a blind eye, Pat Riley has had the courage to face some of society’s most uncomfortable issues,” Altice said. “So it is bittersweet today that we say goodbye to this fearless judge, courageous leader and a champion for good.”

A quota that was earned

Riley said she feels as if she is “one of those privileged people” who did not suffer “the bumps like so many do.” However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as she pursued her undergraduate degree at Indiana University – Bloomington and then enrolled in law school in Indianapolis, Riley encountered social upheaval and barriers to doing what she wanted.

Linda Pence, a retired attorney and classmate of Riley’s at law school, said they were among just a handful of women at the law school, and they were regularly discouraged from studying the law, often told they would not be good lawyers. Pence also recounted the story of the law school dean assuring Riley that she would be accepted because the school had not yet filled its quota of women.

“Don’t you dare, don’t you dare say or even think that we were diversity hires,” Pence told the gathering of colleagues, friends and family at Riley’s retirement ceremony. “Quota was something that was earned and we have fought and fought and earned that place to fill our law schools.”

After law school graduation in 1974, Riley joined the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office where she got to do the trial work she wanted. Also, that was where her belief in second chances was reinforced and continues to be exercised through her work at RecycleForce. Riley said the offenders were told upon their release from prison that they had paid their debt to society, but they were not given any assistance in finding a job or a place to live, so they ended up getting left behind.

“We’re not living up to our part of the bargain,” Riley said. “We said this would be enough punishment and you could come back to society and they’re not able to easily.”

Experience is the joy of life

Since helping the boys get the candy many years ago, Riley said she has learned to ask and listen to what other people need and want, rather than to assume she knows what will make their lives better.

Anika Calloway, vice president of Equifax’s privacy and compliance office, saw that desire to know others’ experiences when she interviewed to be Riley’s law clerk more than 20 years ago. Then a student at Tulane University Law School, Calloway had relied on her family in Evansville to drive her through a blizzard to meet with Riley in Indianapolis.

The two had a wide-ranging conversation about the law and legal profession. Then, Riley asked to meet Calloway’s family. That, Calloway said at the retirement ceremony, was the “key to me landing the job.” She said Riley’s interest in her did not stop at her education and professional development but included her family, friends and cultural background.

“In a world that’s often defined by limitations, she saw possibilities,” Calloway said of Riley. “In a society where conformity was the norm, she celebrated individuality. She challenged stereotypes by actively questioning and refuting biases and built inclusive teams by prioritizing diversity in hiring and team composition.”

A few weeks before her retirement, Riley’s office showed the signs of a life in transition. Some pictures had been removed from the walls, the bookshelves were starting to look bare and the tables were piled with random items that can accumulate over 30 years. Riley was thinking about the after-party that she was going to host immediately following her retirement ceremony.

The thought of mingling with family and friends, trading stories and celebrating accomplishments made Riley smile. She values experiences of doing something new, visiting different places and learning from other people who have grown up in different circumstances.

In her parting remarks at her retirement ceremony, Riley encouraged the gathering to keep their hearts and minds open, and remain curious.

“I’m really thrilled about all the things going on, but I’m worried that we’re going to know everything, because it’s going to be on the internet,” Riley said. “You’re just going to know everything, but you’re not going to experience anything. To me, the joy of life are those experiences.”

Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He has been a content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and a planner for other papers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.

The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.