The final 2 interviews

Michelle Baldwin
Michelle Baldwin told commission members about her varied background, including how she went off on her own to represent clients on tax matters and her current work focusing on the energy industry clients and tax incentives. She discussed her experience on medical licensing issues for pharmacies and pharmacists, and talked about the importance of having those review boards in place. She discussed the importance of how the Tax Court must follow statutes and also make sure people understand why the statutes were enacted. Someone within the Tax Court acting as a legislative liaison might be a beneficial function in helping lawmakers understand what proposed legislation might mean for taxpayers. Baldwin also discussed work on soldiers’ right areas, and noted that she’s seen both sides of tax issues in a way she think would allow her to be impartial and be a good tax court judge.

Thomas Ewbank
The grandson of former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Lewis who served in the early 20th century, Ewbank talked about his longtime practice that has involved inheritance tax work since the late 1960s and how this could be a capstone to his legal career. However, he’d only be able to serve eight years because of the mandatory retirement age of 75 for state appellate judges. He talked about how important ADR is to help courts, and also noted that the tax court judge could be influential in helping the legislature understand and clear up ambiguities in proposed legislation.

The seven-member Judicial Nominating Commission began deliberating behind closed doors just before 3:30 p.m. on who to name as semi-finalists. Once members reach a decision, they will hold a public vote on who to bring back for second interviews.