Editorial: Next choice for Indiana Supreme Court must be a woman
The future is now for the high court.
The future is now for the high court.
Those of us on staff here at the newspaper that grew up in Indiana and were of a certain age to pay attention to the news
can likely recall when Judge Sarah Evans Barker was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
In a series of decisions culminating in Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., federal courts came to recognize that the
Medial Device Amendments preempted not only traditional products liability claims such as those based on an alleged defect
or implied warranty but also causes of action premised on theories such as consumer fraud.
Judge David J. Dreyer urges the governor to appoint a Notre Dame Law School alum.
We know you have opinions – thoughtful, reasonable ones that would make for great discourse in the newspaper. But getting
you to share them is more difficult than we would like.
Here at the newspaper, we’re big fans of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. But we understand the
need for and exuberance some individuals feel for the Second Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to
the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Dawn Johnsen deserved the nomination, and definitely was the right woman for the job, but unfortunately partisan vitriol appears to
be worth more in Washington, D.C., than doing the right thing.
Like it or not, we live in a time where, for some people at least, it’s become acceptable to speak about “reloading” when
doing battle against political opponents and to mark their political districts with gun sites, and where members of a Midwestern
church believe it’s their duty to travel the nation and spew hate-laced messages in places where people are mourning tragedy.
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan certainly spoke for us when he asked this question a couple of weeks ago: “Wouldn’t
we feel better about all of this if it hadn’t been enacted on partyline votes, though?”
At first glance, the legislation seems like the sort that no one could possibly have an objection to.
It sounded too good be true, so we weren't surprised when we found out it was not to be.
After languishing in the U.S. Senate for about 10 months, the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to lead the Office of Legal Counsel finally got some action.
We’d like to see the average voter know more about our appellate courts.