A bill that would establish a merit-based judicial selection system for Marion Superior judges is entering its final phases of negotiation after it cleared the Indiana Senate on Tuesday.
A proposal to select Marion Superior judges through a unique merit-selection system will be heard by a Senate committee Wednesday.
The Indiana House Thursday passed a bill creating a unique judicial-selection commission that gives lawmakers and Marion County political party leaders a majority of seats at the table. The bill has been heavily criticized by Indianapolis’ minority lawmakers and others.
Legislation assuring partisan balance on the bench has key stakeholder and lawmaker support.
Marion County’s unique power-sharing judicial-election system won’t be fixed anytime soon, even though a federal judge has ruled the four-decade-old system is unconstitutional.
The way Marion Superior judges are elected is unconstitutional, a suit filed Thursday by Common Cause and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana alleges.