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James Barta, formerly the deputy solicitor general in the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, has been promoted to solicitor general — only the second attorney in the state’s history to serve in that role.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Barta as his pick for solicitor general on Monday. He replaces Thomas M. Fisher, the state’s first and longtime solicitor general who is now with the group EdChoice.
Barta had served as Fisher’s deputy since 2022. As solicitor general, he will oversee litigation involving constitutional challenges and other issues of vital interest to the state government, according to the AG’s office.
Barta is a 2010 graduate, summa cum laude, of Patrick Henry College in Virginia and a 2013 graduate, magna cum laude, of the Georgetown University Law Center, where he later taught constitutional theory as an adjunct.
During law school, Barta worked as a legal intern for the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Appellate Section, and as a law clerk in the Solicitor General Section of the Indiana AG’s office, according to LinkedIn.
After law school, he clerked for Judge Stephen J. Murphy III of the Eastern District of Michigan, then for Judge Raymond M. Kethledge of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. He then worked as an associate, and later partner, at MoloLamken LLP in Washington, D.C.
Barta returned to Indiana and became deputy solicitor general in April 2022.
He was admitted to the Indiana bar in November 2013 and has no disciplinary history, according to the Indiana Roll of Attorneys.
“After a national search, we selected a Hoosier with top credentials and national experience to fill this important role,” Rokita said in a statement. “I know James Barta is the right choice for Indiana. James is not only brilliant, he is tenacious and excited to represent Hoosiers in this new role before the highest courts of the land.”
Barta has litigated cases in courts as high as the U.S. Supreme Court, according to Rokita’s office. That includes United States v. Arthrex Inc., where the high court ruled that Congress erred when it set up a board to oversee patent disputes by failing to make the judges properly accountable to the president, and Ziglar v. Abbasi, which secured the dismissal of a Bivens claim against prison official who confined foreign nationals detained during 9/11 terrorism investigations.
In Indiana, Barta has worked on cases involving sanctuary cities, absentee voting and the requirement for sex offenders to register with the state.
“I am incredibly grateful and humbled by this opportunity to serve my state and my fellow Hoosiers,” Barta said in a statement. “Ever since studying our nation’s history and ideals, I have desired to advance the rule of law, preserve our system of government and defend Americans’ liberties. It is a privilege to serve those caucuses in this new role.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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