Web Exclusive: Meet the Judges: Harrison Superior Court Judge Joseph Claypool

Harrison Superior Court Judge Joseph Claypool and his wife Julie with a salad made from his herb garden. (Submitted photo)

After having a variety of careers, Indianapolis native Joseph Claypool decided he wanted to go to law school and later settle down in rural southern Indiana. 

The Harrison Superior Court judge said when he was in graduate school he first wanted to be a dentist but later decided against that. 

Then, his grandmother—whose husband was former Indiana Attorney General Philip Lutz Jr.—told him he should have a career in law. 

“She gave me (Lutz’s) gavel and said ‘Here, you should use this someday,’” Claypool said. 

Claypool recalled his grandmother, who was an artist and used to teach at Indiana University Herron School of Art and Design, used the gavel to help hang paintings. The gavel now sits on Claypool’s desk in his chambers with all its little indentations. 

After graduating from what is now Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Claypool practiced in the general corporate field in Indianapolis. 

In 1987, he became Administrative Director for the Indianapolis Zoological Society and then was the executive director of the World Gymnastics Championships in 1991. 

From 1992 to February 1997, Claypool provided consulting services for various Indianapolis agencies, legal firms and businesses including Lilly Endowment and the Indiana Department of Health. During this time period, he continued to maintain a law practice, serve as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers and as a mediator for domestic and other civil law cases.

In May 2006, Claypool graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and became an gaming agent for the Indiana Gaming Commission. As an enforcement agent, he had both administrative and law enforcement duties and was assigned primarily to Caesars Southern Indiana Casino in Harrison County.

Claypool was elected to the bench in 2014. 

Claypool is the latest Indiana trial judge to be featured in Indiana Lawyer’s Spotlight series profiling jurists in more rural counties. Here is what he had to say about life on and off the bench.

What is something that surprised you about being a judge?

We’re judges in a small county with two different offices in two different buildings with two judges. It’s kind of a lonely job. So that’s what surprised me the most. But in regard to that, all the other judges around the different counties and so forth in our district, as well as the Indiana Office of Court Services, (it’s) not a surprise to me that they offer the services that we need (when) we have difficulty and problems. There’s a great camaraderie, a bunch of the judges in the smaller rural areas to help the other judges know what’s going on in different areas is probably the same and true in Marion County and Hamilton. But it surprised me how much of a support system that is on the difficult issues that we have to deal with on a daily basis.

Do you have a favorite memory since your time being a judge? 

My most favorite memories I have are of the people that come through our treatment court and veterans court here. That’s a way to get veterans who have fallen on hard times and have criminal problems going through to get them back on the straight and narrow and through about a minimum of a year program they can go through the veterans court system here. It’s a treatment court, and most of them are dealing with either drug problems or psychological issues based on their service in the military. And both men and women have gone through the court saying they’ll come out and be productive members of society is fantastic. The way the judges get to know they’re the people that are in the court over that time period, understand their problems, try to do what we can, both medically and psychologically and just support them to get back into society and productive members of society. … That’s been a real joy to see that happen. We had a lot of successes. Some of them are not successes, but the ones that are I think it’s well worth the effort that we put into it. For this matter, we have a team with a lot of people working on it, not just me, and it’s really heartening to see these individuals come out and be productive members of society going forward.

What are you doing when you’re not on the bench?

One thing that’s fun, is I just started an herb garden. … My wife has a flower garden in the back and she bought me this little three-by-four stand I can put my herbs in, so I don’t disturb her flower garden. So I got that out last night, which is really nice. I love to cook and we switch off cooking in the evening. I love boating. I’ve always been interested in boats. I learned how to sail at about 10 years old. And I like to fly. I still maintain my pilot’s license as well. And so I love to do all that kind of stuff.