[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 117 (Thursday, July 12, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1003-E1004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PAYING TRIBUTE TO LARRY LANDIS ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AS 
       EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INDIANA PUBLIC DEFENDER COUNCIL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN W. BROOKS

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 12, 2018

  Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Larry 
Landis on the occasion of his retirement as Executive Director of the 
Indiana Public Defender Council. For the past 41 years, Larry has 
devoted his life to ensuring those unable to afford counsel have 
exceptional legal representation. For the entirety of his career, Larry 
was instrumental in public defense reforms, developing and advising 
talented lawyers, and encouraging others to become public defenders. 
The people of Indiana's Fifth Congressional District are forever 
grateful for Larry's commitment to the law and for educating decades of 
Indiana law students.
  A lifelong Hoosier, Larry was raised in Highland, Indiana. He 
attended Indiana University where he graduated with a bachelor's degree 
in business in 1969. Interested in the legal system, he earned his 
juris doctorate from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School 
of Law in 1973. A true public servant, Larry began his law career as a 
deputy state public defender. His passion for legislation advocacy led 
him to work on criminal code reform in 1976, 1977, and in 2014, which 
focused on ensuring Indiana's criminal justice system values 
restoration over punishment. Throughout his career, Larry worked with 
the Indiana General Assembly in crafting criminal and juvenile justice 
bills. His many appearances testifying before the Indiana General 
Assembly, as well as providing significant input on most bills 
affecting the criminal justice system has been invaluable to the state 
of Indiana.
  An exceptional leader, Larry helped establish the Indiana Public 
Defender Council when it was created in 1977. In 1980, he became 
Executive Director where he conducted over 350 seminars and workshops, 
published six manuals and numerous articles on criminal defense, and 
lectured on a variety of criminal justice topics. He later drafted 
legislation that created the Indiana Public Defender Commission in 
1989, an organization that recommends standards for low income defense 
in capital cases, adopts guidelines of salary and fee schedules for 
individual county reimbursement eligibility, and reviews and approves 
requests for reimbursement in capital and non-capital cases. Ever 
dedicated to the Commission's mission, Larry now serves as an advisor.
  Passionate about education, Larry became an adjunct professor in 
trial advocacy at IU McKinney Law School in 1981, where he founded the 
Trial Skills Practice course. Larry recruited a network of highly 
respected and qualified trial lawyers and judges to teach, providing 
students with an exceptional experiential learning experience. As a 
third year IU McKinney Law student in 1985, I am among the countless 
lawyers who benefited from Larry Landis's Trial Skills Practice class. 
More importantly, a multitude of clients have benefited from the 
enhanced skills of those fortunate enough to have participated in this 
critically important course for future trial lawyers.
  Larry has been honored with numerous awards in the public and private 
sectors. Notably, he received the Hoosier Freedom Award from the 
Indiana Trial Lawyers Association in 2012, the Chancellor's Award for 
Excellence in Teaching from Indiana University-Purdue University 
Indianapolis (IUPUI) in 2010, as well as the Part-Time Teaching Award 
from Indiana University President Michael McRobbie, in 2010. 
Additionally, he received the Marc Emery Award from the Marion County 
Public Defender Agency Board of Directors in 2007, the Distinguished 
Teaching Award from Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis in 
1998 and 1999, the Reginald Heber Smith Award from the National Legal 
Aid and Defender Association in 1996, and the Criminal

[[Page E1004]]

Justice Service Award from the Indiana State Bar Association Criminal 
Justice Section in 1996.
  Larry's life-long commitment to justice and public defense led to his 
service on the board of directors at the Indiana Criminal Justice 
Institute, the Commission on Children, and the Commission on the 
Interstate Compact on Probation and Parole. He has also served as a 
member of the American Bar Association, National Legal Aid and Defender 
Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Indiana 
State Bar Association, International Bar Association, the Public 
Defender Commission, the Criminal Code Evaluation Commission and the 
Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee.
  Larry has made a remarkable impact on his community and the lives of 
his friends, family, and colleagues. He has truly left a legacy of 
success at the Indiana Public Defender Council and in the State of 
Indiana that will be built upon for years to come. On behalf of 
Indiana's Fifth Congressional District, I congratulate Larry Landis on 
his extraordinary career and extend my gratitude for all the wonderful 
contributions he has made to our Hoosier community. I wish the very 
best to my dear friend and his family, and hope that he will have many 
happy times on the golf course and beyond as he enjoys a well-deserved 
retirement.

                          ____________________