Indianapolis voters would elect four of 14 members of a proposed committee to nominate Marion Superior Court judges under a revised bill that eliminates bar group representation on the panel and continues to draw opposition from African-American lawmakers and community members.
A proposal to select Marion Superior judges through a unique merit-selection system will be heard by a Senate committee Wednesday.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee praised President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick on Monday for an “unfailing commitment” to the principle of separation of powers, as Judge Neil Gorsuch's confirmation hearing got underway.
If Neil Gorsuch wins confirmation to the Supreme Court, he could cast the deciding vote on President Donald Trump’s travel ban against immigrants from certain countries. But it's far from certain how he would vote.
During a decade on the federal appeals court in Denver, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has raised concerns about intrusive government searches and seizures that he found to violate constitutional rights. He generally has ruled against defendants appealing their convictions and those who claim they received unfair trials. But he also has warned in writings and speeches about the danger of having too many criminal laws on the books.
When Justice Antonin Scalia backed out of a book project with writing partner Bryan Garner, the justice recommended who might take his place. Neil Gorsuch was first on this list. Legal-writing experts say it’s not hard to see why the veteran jurist would recommend the man President Donald Trump would later nominate to fill the Supreme Court seat Scalia held for nearly 30 years.
Two Wisconsin district court judges will begin lending their services to the Hoosier state Wednesday as part of a pilot partnership designed to ease the caseloads of the judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, consistently ranked among the 10 busiest federal district courts.
As the General Assembly weighs a new means of choosing Marion County judges, critics of the proposed merit-selection system say its enactment will almost guarantee another court fight.
The Indiana House Thursday passed a bill creating a unique judicial-selection commission that gives lawmakers and Marion County political party leaders a majority of seats at the table. The bill has been heavily criticized by Indianapolis’ minority lawmakers and others.
Despite public concerns that a bill for choosing Indianapolis judges would reduce diversity on the bench, deprive Marion County residents of the right to directly elect jurists and elevate political considerations, a House committee Wednesday advanced a merit-selection measure supported by lawyers, judges and the business community.
An Indiana House committee will hear a bill Wednesday that would institute a new system for selecting the 36 judges of Marion Superior Court but would retain the partisan balance on the court that was a key element of the former system invalidated by a federal court.
Legislation assuring partisan balance on the bench has key stakeholder and lawmaker support.
A proposal for a new judicial selection system for Indianapolis would require term extensions for all 36 Marion Superior judges, the bill’s author said.
A bill in the Indiana General Assembly would establish merit selection for Marion Superior judges, but Indianapolis’ version would also include recommendations from the judicial selection committee on whether voters should retain judges.
The Indiana Supreme Court has appointed longtime Knightstown lawyer and judge E. Edward Dunsmore II to temporarily fill a judicial vacancy in Henry County.
A retiring Vigo Circuit Court judge has been temporarily appointed judge of the Terre Haute City Court.
With Republicans set to control the White House, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the fate of Indiana’s judicial nominees to the federal bench is even more uncertain, but one court-watcher believes Winfield Ong might be confirmed.
President-elect Donald Trump will enter the Oval Office with the ability to re-establish the Supreme Court’s conservative tilt and the chance to cement it for the long term.
The Indiana Supreme Court has appointed three judges to temporarily replace a Noblesville city judge who died last month.
A senior judge will preside as a judge pro tem in Morgan County effective Monday, the Indiana Supreme Court ordered this week.