Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Indiana Supreme Court has amended the Indiana Administrative Rules to add a new section requiring judges to give notice of the commencement and termination of their time in office and clarifying that a senior judge has the same authority as the appointing judge.
The July 7 order makes changes to Rule 5 and adds Rule 5.1.
Rule 5.1 — “Notice of Commencement or Termination of Term in Office and Employment” — replaces the previous Rule 5(C). The new rule says an elected or appointed circuit, superior, county, probate, city, town or small claims court judge “shall give notice” to the Indiana Office of Judicial Administration of the commencement and termination of their term.
Judges also need to give notice of “the employment or termination of any magistrate, referee, commissioner, hearing officer, or other appointed judicial officer, whether such judicial officer is paid by the State of Indiana or by another entity.” The notice “must designate the position as full or part time, state the number of hours per week that the position requires, and identify all court(s) in which such appointed judicial officer shall serve.”
Rule 5.1 also says prosecuting attorneys shall give notice to the IOJA of the commencement and termination of their terms and whether the position will be full time or part time. Prosecutors also need to give notice of the employment or termination of a deputy prosecuting attorney whose salary is paid by the state, and indicate whether the position will be full time or part time.
Notices must be given at least two weeks in advance of the beginning or termination of the term on forms designated by the IOJA.
Changes to Rule 5 include a new title, “Payment and Administration of Special Judges and Senior Judges Program.”
The amended version of Rule 5 says when appointing a senior judge, a judge shall “cause an order to be filed under a court business (CB) case type naming the senior judge who will serve the court, subject to the Code of Judicial Conduct.”
The order needs to specify the duration of service or the case assigned to the senior judge and any limits on the assignment’s duration.
The amendment strikes language that said, “The senior judge shall provide to the presiding judge, and the presiding judge shall attach to the order, a verified written statement from the senior judge that the senior judge does not practice law in the court.”
The amended Rule 5 clarifies that a senior judge “shall have the same authority as the judge of the court where the senior judge is serving, but only during the time specified in the order and such additional time as required to finalize the assignment. A violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct does not impair the authority or actions of the senior judge.”
Rule 5 also clarifies that a senior judge who has been certified by the Judicial Nominating Commission “shall have authority any time during the certification to officiate marriages and administer oaths.”
The amendments will take effect Jan. 1, 2024.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.