Indiana Supreme Court elections

There are five justices on the Indiana Supreme Court. For more information about these elections, visit the Indiana judicial elections page.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Indiana

The five justices on the Indiana Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission is responsible for providing the names of three nominees to the governor, who must then select a justice from that list.^[1]^[2] The commission is made up of six voting members from the three geographic districts covered by the Indiana Court of Appeals. Members include three attorneys, elected by attorneys in their respective geographic districts, and three non-attorneys, appointed by the governor. The chief justice or his or her designee serves as an ex officio member of the commission.^[2]

Justices serve at least two years following their initial appointment. They must stand for retention at the first statewide general election to remain in office. If retained, justices serve a ten-year term and must stand for retention every ten years after that point to remain in office.^[3]

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

a U.S. citizen;
an Indiana resident;
admitted to practice law in the state for at least 10 years or have served as a trial court judge for at least five years; and
under the age of 75 (retirement at 75 is mandatory).^[1]

Chief Justice

The chief justice is selected by the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission from the members of the supreme court and serves a five-year term.^[2] In the event of a vacancy, the justice with the longest tenure on the supreme court serves as acting chief justice until the nominating commission fills the position.^[2]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the position is filled as it normally would be had the vacancy occurred at the end of a justice's term. The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission provides the names of three nominees to the governor, who must then select a justice from that list.^[1]^[2] The new appointee serves at least two years following his or her initial appointment and must stand for retention at the first statewide general election to remain in office.^[3] The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Indiana Supreme Court

Derek Molter was retained to the Indiana Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 69.6% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	69.6	1,571,882
	No	30.4	687,028
	Total Votes		2,258,910