Finalists for St. Joseph Superior Court vacancy announced

  • Print

The St. Joseph County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced five nominees to fill the vacancy left by retired Superior Court 7 Judge Steven Hostetler.

Finalists for the position include:

  • Thomas Dixon of Osceola
  • St. Joseph Superior Court Magistrate Keith Doi
  • Andrew Jones of South Bend
  • St. Joseph Superior Court Magistrate Graham Polando
  • Mark Telloyan of South Bend

The nominees will be submitted to Gov. Eric Holcomb for consideration.

Under state law, the commission must submit to the governor a list of up to five nominees with written evaluations of each candidate. Upon receiving the list of nominees, Holcomb has 60 days in which to make an appointment to the St. Joseph Superior Court.

Hostetler retired in September and applications for his position were accepted until Oct. 12. On Nov. 4, the commission interviewed candidates and then met in executive session to deliberate and select the nominees.

St. Joseph Superior Court is undergoing a slew of changes this year. Last month, Jamie C. Woods was selected to succeed retired Judge David Chapleau in St. Joseph Superior Court 6.

Two additional judicial officers, Magistrate Judge Matthew R. Raper and Magistrate Judge Eric J. Tamashasky, also recently joined the St. Joseph Superior Court. Raper and Tamashasky were sworn into the bench on Sept. 20 and Oct. 11, respectively.

A formal robing ceremony is being held on Nov. 5 for Raper, as well as judges Stephanie Steele and Cristal Brisco.

An additional formal robing ceremony will be held for Woods and Tamashasky after the vacancy left by Hostetler, who is now a senior judge, is filled. The new appointee for that post will also be robed during the ceremony.

Please enable JavaScript to view this content.

{{ articles_remaining }}
Free {{ article_text }} Remaining
{{ articles_remaining }}
Free {{ article_text }} Remaining Article limit resets on
{{ count_down }}