About this episode

Ken Falk discusses his extensive career defending constitutional rights and the importance of the rule of law.

Ken Falk has spent decades defending constitutional rights for clients ranging from the KKK to Planned Parenthood, and he makes no apologies for it. As legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, Falk argues that the identity of the client is never the point. The constitutional question is.Falk traces his path from a senior center in Washington Heights to legal services offices in Muncie and Indianapolis, explaining how those early years handling divorces, evictions, and welfare cases taught him things law school never could. He reflects on a career built around class action litigation, First Amendment battles, and cases involving conditions inside Indiana correctional facilities, including a recent $1.2 million settlement on behalf of prisoners held in cells without functioning lights and with broken windows, and sewage flooding the unit.He also addresses the state of the legal profession directly, warning that the rule of law depends entirely on public respect for the judicial process. Lawyers who undermine that respect, win or lose, do damage that extends far beyond any single case. His advice to young attorneys is blunt: have humility, appreciate your clients, and understand that…

People in this episode

Host: Maura Johnson

Guest: Ken Falk

Topics covered

• constitutional rights
• legal profession
• class action litigation
• First Amendment
• prison conditions
• public respect for judicial process

Keywords

• constitutional rights
• ACLU
• legal profession
• class action
• First Amendment
• prison conditions
• judicial process
• humility
• young attorneys

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ACLU of Indiana, KKK, Planned Parenthood

Places: Indiana, Washington Heights, Muncie, Indianapolis

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