(INDIANAPOLIS) – Thirteen judges and lawyers who applied for an opening on the Court of Appeals of Indiana will be interviewed remotely by the Judicial Nominating Commission on Wednesday, June 10. With social distancing measures in place and the Indiana State House closed to the public, the remote interviews will allow the process to move forward.
The interviews will be live streamed starting at 9 a.m. so that the public can view the vacancy process. The full interview schedule is available online. Interview times may change slightly throughout the day. After all interviews have concluded and the Commission deliberates in a private executive session, a public vote will also be live streamed. Follow @incourts on Twitter for notice before the stream begins.
Applications, along with writing samples, transcripts, and letters of recommendation are a matter of public record. Redacted applications are available online.
The vacancy is the result of the retirement of Court of Appeals Judge John G. Baker. According to the Indiana Constitution and state statute, the seven-member Judicial Nominating Commission must recruit and select candidates to fill vacancies on Indiana appellate courts. With Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush as chair, the Commission includes three lawyers elected by their peers and three citizen-members appointed by the Governor.
A second round of interviews is scheduled to take place on July 1. Those interviews are expected to be held in person. Following the July interviews, the Commission will publicly vote to select the three most qualified candidates in an executive session and submit them to Governor Eric Holcomb, who has 60 days from receiving the list to select Indiana’s next Court of Appeals judge.
