Articles

Letter to the editor: Proposed changes to merit selection may prove judicious

Your publication recently printed an article discussing the Indiana State Bar Association’s objections to Indiana Senate Joint Resolution 16. The bar association’s complaint about SJR 16, and the slant of the article, is that the resolution proposes to “strip” Hoosier voters of the power to retain Indiana appellate court judges and Supreme Court justices. I do not believe that complaint is well-founded.

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McDermott: Lake, St. Joseph judiciary bill raises questions

The undeniable truth is that there is a long legislative history in this nation of powerful majorities diminishing and silencing the voices of minorities. While I have no reason to believe the motive of the current judicial selection legislation for Lake and St. Joseph counties is racial, this law will undoubtedly have a disproportionally negative effect on citizens who happen to be racial minorities.

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JLAP: An interview with Justice David — because he cares

Talking about what motivates him to be a JLAP volunteer, Justice Steven David pointed out parallels in his legal and military career paths. In both, ordinary people are called upon to do extraordinary things: solving problems, working in the midst of conflict and making decisions that affect lives. We set high expectations for ourselves. Failure is not an option.

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Finalists for St. Joseph Superior Court resubmitted to Holcomb

Gov. Eric Holcomb has been presented a second time with the same slate of nominees to fill a vacancy on the St. Joseph Superior Court, potentially curing an injunction that had blocked the governor’s appointment after a local commission member sued, claiming two fellow members were ineligible.

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Holcomb appoints new judge to Vanderburgh Superior Court

A longtime private practitioner in a small Evansville law firm was appointed as judge of the Vanderburgh Superior Court on Thursday. Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the appointment of the new jurist who will succeed Judge Richard G. D’Amour upon his retirement in April. 

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Lake County Bar: Judicial-selection bill an ‘abomination,’ ‘political power play’

The Lake County Bar Association on Thursday issued the most damning rebuke to date of a bill in the Indiana General Assembly that would alter how judges in that county and St. Joseph County are selected. The northwest Indiana county’s bar called the bill “an abomination” and “a political power play by parties not even within Lake County to take even more power away from the people of Lake County in selecting their judges.”

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Legislation takes aim at judicial selection

A bill in the Legislature would restructure the composition of judicial nominating commissions in Lake and St. Joseph counties. Currently, an even number of attorneys and nonattorney members are appointed by local stakeholders, but the proposal would reduce attorney representation, which has prompted a backlash in the northern Indiana legal communities.

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