Justice David ends his career where it all began

Jun. 30—Justice Steven David gave his final oral argument as a member of the Indiana Supreme Court in Lebanon, where he served as a Boone County trial court judge for 15 years.

As a tribute to David, the court moved its operations to the auditorium at Lebanon High School so David's peers, colleagues, local politicians, invited guests and LHS students could watch.

"What a great day today is that we have the opportunity to host the Indiana Supreme Court and most importantly, Justice David's final oral argument," Lebanon High School Principal Kevin O'Rourke said as he opened the event. "Looking around the room and seeing so many of us from Boone County, we know just how special of a man Justice David is and the role that he played in our county for many years."

Referring to David's advocacy for youth, O'Rourke said it was fitting that his final oral argument was at LHS.

"He holds them accountable, but he has a way of trying to build them up and make them become great citizens and I saw that over and over," O'Rourke said.

Chief Justice Loretta Rush gave the emcee duties to David and when asked if he was ready, he responded, "I hope so."

"This is the final time that you will see me and I'm trying to realize that this is the final time that I will be part of this court with my great colleagues here," David said. "It's quite an honor, privilege and a very humbling experience to be here in Boone County."

David's career has taken him all over the world. In addition to his career as a public servant, he also spent 28 years in the military.

Prior to his time on the Indiana Supreme Court, David attended Murray State University. He then went on to earn his law degree from the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at Indiana University.

After IU, he graduated from the Indiana Judicial College and the Graduate Program for Indiana Judges. Following his graduation from law school, he served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps on active duty.

He also spent time in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was a trial counsel, defense counsel, military judge and commander.

The case David and the rest of the Supreme Court heard Thursday morning was James E. McCoy v. State of Indiana, which is about a Logansport Police Officer receiving a tip from a passerby about a robbery in progress at the McCoy's house.

The passerby also informed the officer about an active warrant for the person being robbed. As the officer arrived, the suspect and McCoy were outside and upon giving his name, McCoy was placed under arrest, as it was confirmed he had a warrant. He them placed McCoy in handcuffs.

While he was in custody, McCoy was asked by the officer if he wanted to walk through the house with him to see if any property was missing. During the walk through, the officer smelled the odor of burnt illegal drugs, which prompted a search warrant.

After the search warrant was served, McCoy was charged with possession of meth, marijuana and paraphernalia as well as unlawful possession of a syringe.

At the trial, McCoy moved to suppress the evidence found in his home as he was not advised of his Miranda and Pirtle rights before the officer and he walked through his house.

The Cass County Superior Court denied McCoy's petition to suppress and the jury convicted him. The case reached the Indiana Supreme Court, where he was asking the court to take jurisdiction over his appeal and decide the case.

Upon the final rebuttal from McCoy's attorneys, David thanked everyone for their arguments and explained that the justices will take all of the evidence presented into consideration and then make a decision.

Since the court had its oral argument 'on the road,' a question and answer period capped off the event, with questions from current LHS students.

The justices fielded questions about their careers, outlooks on public service and why they enjoy their work.

"There's nothing better than serving the public," David said. "There is sense of citizenship, stewardship and responsibility and all of us have that. We have an obligation to be informed, to vote and be involved, willing to learn and to change our minds once in a while and stand upon our convictions and reconcile that that's the right thing to do."

At the conclusion of the morning's activities, O'Rourke presented each of the justices with Lebanon Tiger T-shirts.

David said he doesn't plan to wear his, but will instead take it to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, which he plans to climb in January.

"It's been great. I went to law school, I'm the first generation of law school [in my family]," David said. "I went to law school because I wanted to help people. I've wanted to do this since I was 12 or 13. My parents told me to try college for a few weeks and if I didn't like it, to come home. I'm the first lawyer in my family to graduate law school and the first to practice law.

"There are now four lawyers in my family. I went from being the first lawyer, to the worst of four," he joked.

The justices then stood and walked out of the auditorium to much applause.

David was appointed to the court by former Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2010.