ISBA members vote ‘yes’ to appellate judges’ retention

  • Print

Each of the seven Indiana appellate judges up for retention this year have received favorable recommendations from members of the Indiana State Bar Association.

The ISBA announced Wednesday that its members voted “yes” on the question of whether the following jurists should be retained:

  • Indiana Supreme Court Justice Christopher Goff: 89% yes, 11% no.
  • Indiana Court of Appeals Chief Judge Cale Bradford: 87% yes, 13% no.
  • Indiana Court of Appeals Judge L. Mark Bailey: 88% yes, 12% no.
  • Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Elaine Brown: 83% yes, 17% no
  • Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Melissa May: 85% yes, 15% no.
  • Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Margret Robb: 85% yes, 15% no.
  • Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Tavitas: 83% yes, 17% no.

Members of the Indiana Supreme Court and Court of Appeals face a retention vote in the first general election that occurs at least two years after their appointment, then every 10 years after that. The ISBA surveys its members on appellate judicial retention to “help Indiana voters make an informed decision about their vote to retain a judge.”

“Lawyers are uniquely qualified to evaluate members of the judiciary,” the ISBA said in a news release.

The Nov. 3 election will mark the first time Justice Goff and Judge Tavitas have faced a retention vote. Goff was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2017 and Tavitas was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2018. 

The Indiana Supreme Court has created a website for Hoosiers to learn more about the appellate judges seeking retention.

Members of the ISBA were electronically surveyed Sept. 9-Sept. 21. A total of 7,408 members were polled, and 688, or 9%, cast their votes.

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 }}