Indiana legislature hires outside attorney in groping suit

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana's legislative leaders have hired an outside attorney to represent the General Assembly in a federal lawsuit alleging that state Attorney General Curtis Hill drunkenly groped four women.

A state lawmaker and three legislative staffers sued Hill and the state of Indiana last month over his alleged groping of them at an Indianapolis bar during a party marking the end of last year's legislative session.

The House and Senate aren't named in the lawsuit but The Journal Gazette reports the chambers' leaders have hired Indianapolis attorney Susan Zoeller to represent their interests because they're seeking to intervene in that complaint.

Indiana's attorney general typically represents state agencies and offices in lawsuits, but House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray say that isn't workable in this case.

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Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net