Next COA chief judge will get to be chief

Talk about putting the cart before the horse: fellow judges electing an Indiana Court of Appeals judge as the next chief judge before she was retained by the general public.

In October, the Court of Appeals judges elected Judge Robb as chief judge. She’ll be the first female to lead the appellate court. But when the election was held, Judge Robb’s future on the bench was uncertain. She was up for retention this election, so there was a chance - a very minuscule chance - the public would vote against retaining her. I can’t recall or find a case where an appellate judge in Indiana wasn’t retained during an election.

Apparently, the November election never crossed the COA judges’ minds when they elected Judge Robb as their next chief judge before the general election, as Chief Judge John Baker told IL reporter Michael Hoskins.

The voters have spoken and Judge Robb stays on the bench for another 10 years, unless she decides to step down before her term ends. And now, Indiana will get its historical moment with her becoming the first woman chief judge.