Jon M. Bailey

Jon M. Bailey, a practicing attorney in Indianapolis for 38 years, died July 24, 2016. He battled cancer for two years and was 67 years old. Mr. Bailey was noted for strengthening public safety as a senior deputy prosecutor in the 1980s, as the driving force in the creation of the Marion County Public Defender's Agency in the 1990s and for his litigation for desegregation as busing was being phased out in 2004.

While working for Marion County Prosecutor Stephen Goldsmith in the 1980s, he was responsible for the prosecution of drunken driving cases and for interventions to deter accidents and deaths. "He was a superb deputy prosecutor, whose insights and extraordinary dedication, particularly in the area of drunk driving made Indianapolis a safer place," said Goldsmith, former Prosecutor and Indianapolis Mayor. "Jon's keen mind and ethics helped us achieve a high level of professionalism."

During the prosecution of his cases, Mr. Bailey saw a need to strengthen the legal representation of indigent criminal defendants, and in 1993 he wrote a new law, sponsored by the City-County Council Majority Leader, late Stephen R. West, to establish the Marion County Public Defenders Agency to provide defendants with attorneys, wholly independent of the Courts. Prior to 1993, indigent citizens received court-appointed attorneys by the judges in whose courtrooms their cases were argued. The new Public Defender Agency deterred potential conflicts of interest, placed prosecutors and defenders on equal footing, and reduced the defense attorneys' financial reliance on judges. The public defenders consequently worked wholly for their clients, not for the Court. The Public Defenders Agency became a model for other communities wanting to improve the representation of indigent criminal defendants.

He was "distinguished for his humanity in living and inspiration in leadership," said Mike McDaniel on behalf of Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who honored Bailey in 2016 with the Sagamore of the Wabash, the State of Indiana's highest honor, for his legal accomplishments. If it was Friday night, Mr. Bailey could be found watching "Indiana Week In Review" on WFYI-TV, never missing an update on the affairs of politics and government affecting the state. McDaniel is one of the show's four primary commentators.

Mr. Bailey was elected the Chair of the Board of the Marion County Public Defenders Agency for fifteen years, while he was a senior partner at Bose McKinney & Evans in Indianapolis. He also served on the staff of the Indiana Department of Toxicology's Breath Test School for 20 years and advocated for continual improvements in the training of operators of breath-alcohol testing instruments. He joined Bose McKinney in 1989, and was mentored by Lewis Bose and Bill Evans, who litigated the first school desegregation cases in the 1970s, involving the Indianapolis and suburban schools. Mr. Bailey subsequently was responsible for litigating and negotiating the middle and final phases of school desegregation, when the township administrators and parents had a strong kinship with the city's children and wanted them to continue their studies in the suburbs. The desegregation of the 1960s had reversed the sentiments and succeeded. Bailey worked closely with the City of Indianapolis and Townships to assure students of a thoughtful transition back to the city schools, when busing was phased out in 2004 and 2005.

At Bose McKinney, Mr. Bailey was Chair of the Municipal Services Group and was a member of the Education Law Group. Mr. Bailey also served as Counsel in the State of Indiana for Neola, a leader in school district policy development. His contributions to school law insured the protection of Indiana students by helping districts implement those laws. Bailey fully supported Neola's motto of 'Children First'. Mr. Bailey also took great pride in supporting the efforts of schools districts in removing unscrupulous educators and celebrated the best in public education.

A recipient of numerous awards for public service, Mr. Bailey dedicated his work to high ethical and legal standards. He received the: Marion County Prosecutor's Office Distinguished Service Award, 1989; Indiana Secondary School Administrators Distinguished Service Award, 1989; and was named an Honorary Deputy Chief, Indianapolis Police Department, 1990. The Indiana Bar Association has honored him numerous times as a member of the Pro Bono Hall of Fame. Bailey was awarded the AV Preeminent Rating, which is the highest possible rating in legal ability and ethical standards for fifteen consecutive years. The AV Preeminent Rating is the pinnacle of professional excellence earned through a strenuous Peer Review Rating.

He has given hundreds of presentations to public sector groups on legal and ethical issues, such as the Indiana Association of Cities and Town, the Indiana Municipal Lawyer's Association, the Indiana School Boards Association, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, and Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police.

"I wanted to be an attorney since the age of three, ever since I watched Perry Mason,"Mr. Bailey once remarked. Inspired by the 1950s and 1960s television drama on CBS, "Perry Mason," about a criminal defense attorney who rescued clients who had been wrongfully accused of murder, Mr. Bailey said he wanted to be an advocate for justice-on the other side of the law, as a prosecutor. But then he returned to his original inspiration after serving as a prosecutor, and in his life-long commitment to justice, he advocated for indigent defendants in need of fair representation.

Mr. Bailey was born and raised in Indianapolis and was a graduate of North Central High School. He was the son of the late Merlin "Skip" Bailey II, a certified public accountant and founder of Bailey, Williams, McGonical and Knowles, and Virginia E. Bailey, past president of the Starlighters that supported the professional summer stock company, Starlight Musicals, at Butler University. Skip Bailey was a 33rd degree mason and trustee of the Scottish Rite, and a long-time director of the Meridian Street Methodist Church. Jon Bailey's relatives have resided in Indiana long before the Civil War, having arrived before the American Revolution from Ireland and Scotland. A proud student of history and the law, Bailey's Indiana roots strengthened his dedication to justice and compassion.

Mr. Bailey earned a B.S. in Education from Ball State University, where he majored in social studies in secondary education, and obtained his teaching license. At Ball State, he was President of his freshman class in 1966-67, and of his senior class in 1969-70. He was a member of the national honor society, Blue Key, and the social fraternity Sigma Chi, as was his father. He joined the U.S. Army as a sergeant after graduating from Ball State, and returned to Indianapolis to work for the Indiana Department of Education.

Bailey attended four years of night classes at the Indiana University Robert McKinney School in Indianapolis, was awarded his J.D. degree, cum laude in 1975, and was inducted into the international legal honor society, Phi Alpha Delta. Also in 1975, Mr. Bailey was admitted to the Bar of Indiana and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana.

A distinguished, honest and humble public servant, Mr. Bailey was a member of Meridian Street Methodist Church. He was preceded by Skip and Virginia Bailey, and stepbrother, M. Merlin Bailey, and is survived by stepsister Joan M. (Irvin) Cash; and step-niece Alice J. Cash.

Jon is also survived by cherished friends, Nancy and Phillip Walsh, along with Julie Ann Goldsmith, who added immeasurably to his life, particularly as he battled his illness.

Mr. Bailey generously donated his body to the Anatomical Education Program at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Visitation and services will be held at Crown Hill Funeral Home at 700 West 38th Indianapolis on July 28 with gathering & fellowship starting at 5 p.m. and a celebration of life service beginning at 6 p.m. Memorial gifts may be made in his honor to the Humane Society of Indianapolis. "In Memory of CoCo."