Indiana judicial elections, 2014

Indiana judicial elections, 2014
Overview
Total candidates:	239
Primary candidates:	203
General election candidates:	195
Incumbency
Incumbents:	122
Incumbent success rate:	93%
Competition - general election
Percent of candidates in contested races:	32%
Percent uncontested:	61%
Percent retention:	7%
Partisan victories
Republican	98
Democratic	45

2015 → ← 2013
Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2014
Judicial election dates
Candidates by state
Supreme court elections

Last updated: November 2014

The Indiana judicial elections included partisan, nonpartisan and retention elections. In the general election on November 4, 2014, 195 candidates vied for election to the courts with 62 participating in contested races, 14 in retention elections, and 119 running unopposed. Nine incumbent judges were defeated this year and all of the 14 judges up for retention were retained.

See also: Indiana elections summary, 2014

Election dates

• February 7: Filing deadline
• May 6: Primary
• November 4: General election

In addition to candidate lists, this page includes information about how the state's judicial elections work, as well as articles about noteworthy news in races across the state.

General election: Contested races

(I) denotes incumbent

Allen County Superior Court, Civil Division 2

• Daniel J. Borgmann, 24.9%A
• James P. Posey, 30.2%A
• Stanley A. Levine (I), 44.9%A

Fayette County Superior Court, No. 1

• James M. Fraley, 41.8%A
• Paul L. Freed, 58.2%A

Floyd County Superior Court, No. 2

• James B. Hancock, 57.6%A
• Matthew W. Lorch, 42.4%A

Harrison County Superior Court, No. 1

• Joseph L. Claypool, 51.7%A
• Dennis Byrd, 48.3%A

Jackson County Superior Court, No. 1

• Bruce Markel III (I), 52.2%A
• Susan D. Bevers, 47.8%A

Jefferson County Superior Court, No. 1

• Alison T. Frazier (I), 41.3%A
• Mike Hensley, 58.7%A

Jennings County Superior Court, No. 1

• Gary L. Smith (I), 65.6%A
• John Gay, 34.4%A

Knox County Superior Court, No. 1

• Bryan A. Jewel, 47.0%A
• Gara U. Lee, 53.0%A

Knox County Superior Court, No. 2

• John F. Sievers, 43.3%A
• Ryan D. Johanningsmeier, 56.7%A

LaPorte County Superior Court, No. 3

• Jeffrey L. Thorne, 56.1%A
• Jennifer L. Koethe (I), 43.9%A

Montgomery County Superior Court, No. 1

• Heather Perkins Dennison, 44.3%A
• John Keith Baird, 21.6%A
• Raymond M. Kirtley, 34.1%A

Ripley County Superior Court, No. 1

• Jeff Sharp, 50.1%A
• John Kellerman II, 49.9%A

Tippecanoe County Superior Court, No. 2

• Rebecca A. Trent, 48.5%A
• Steven P. Meyer, 51.5%A

Vigo County Superior Court, No. 2

• Christopher J. Dailey, 48.8%A
• Lakshmi Reddy, 51.2%A

Clark County Circuit Court, No. 2

• Brad Jacobs, 63.0%A
• Laura A. Harbison, 37.0%A

Clark County Circuit Court, No. 3

• Joseph P. Weber, 51.7%A
• Kyle P. Williams, 48.3%A

Dubois County Circuit Court, No. 1

• Kevin D. Crouse, 41.7%A
• Nathan A. Verkamp, 58.3%A

Howard County Circuit Court, No. 1

• Lynn Murray (I), 54.4%A
• Richard L. Russell, 45.6%A

Marion County Circuit Court, No. 1

• Sheryl Lynch, 55.2%A
• Therese Hannah, 44.8%A

Monroe County Circuit Court, No. 5

• Alphonso "Al" Manns, 37.2%A
• Kenneth G. Todd (I), 62.8%A

Monroe County Circuit Court, No. 6

• Karen A. Wyle, 43.4%A
• Valeri Haughton (I), 56.6%A

Tippecanoe County Circuit Court, No. 1

• Les A. Meade, 48.8%A
• Thomas H. Busch, 51.2%A

Warrick County Circuit Court, No. 1

• Sherry D. Smith, 40.4%A
• Greg A. Granger, 59.6%A

Indiana Small Claims Courts, Center Township

• Brenda A. Roper, 75.1%A
• Kevin Green, 24.9%A

Indiana Small Claims Courts, Lawrence Township

• Clark G. Rehme (I), 45.8%A
• Kimberly Bacon, 54.2%A

Indiana Small Claims Courts, Perry Township

• Amanda R. Whipple, 34.6%A
• Robert S. Spear (I), 65.4%A

Indiana Small Claims Courts, Pike Township

• A. Douglas Stephens (I), 63%A
• Sarah Glasser, 37%A

Indiana Small Claims Courts, Warren Township

• Dirk Bentley, 43.5%A
• Garland E. Graves (I), 56.5%A

Indiana Small Claims Courts, Washington Township

• Kerry W. Mann, 38.8%A
• Steven G. Poore (I), 61.2%A

Indiana Small Claims Courts, Wayne Township

• Danny Vaughn (I), 48.1%A
• Gerald B. Coleman, 51.9%A

Retentions

The following judges were retained in the general election. In retention elections, the incumbent judge is not being evaluated against an opponent. Rather, he or she simply receives votes of "yes" to retain or "no", do not retain.

Appellate courts

Court	Judge	Votes
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
Indiana Supreme Court	Loretta H. Rush	69.0%A
Indiana Supreme Court	Mark S. Massa	67.3%A
Indiana Court of Appeals	Rudolph Pyle III	67.1%A

Trial courts

Court	Judge	Votes
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana	Clarence D. Murray	68.0%A
St. Joseph County Superior Court, Indiana	David C. Chapleau	73.0%A
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana	Diane Ross Boswell	71.6%A
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana	Elizabeth Tavitas	67.5%A
St. Joseph County Superior Court, Indiana	Jane Woodward Miller	75.8%A
St. Joseph County Superior Court, Indiana	John M. Marnocha	73.5%A
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana	John M. Sedia	66.2%A
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana	Julie N. Cantrell	67.7%A
Indiana Tax Court	Martha B. Wentworth	69.2%A
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana	Nicholas J. Schiralli	68.6%A
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana	Sheila M. Moss	69.5%A

General election: Uncontested

The following candidates were elected or re-elected after running unopposed in the general election.

Trial courts

Court	Candidate
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
Lawrence County Circuit Court	Andrea K. McCord
Clark County Circuit Court	Andrew Adams
Wells County Superior Court	Andrew K. Antrim
Marion County Superior Court	Angela Davis
Madison County Circuit Court	Angela Warner Sims
Marion County Superior Court	Annie Christ-Garcia
Fulton County Circuit Court	Arthur Christopher Lee
Marion County Superior Court	Barbara Cook Crawford
Henry County Circuit Court	Bob A. Witham
Rush County Superior Court	Brian D. Hill
Boone County Superior Court	Bruce Petit
Elkhart County Superior Court	Charles C. Wicks
Putnam County Superior Court	Charles D. Bridges
Marion County Superior Court	Christina R. Klineman
Wabash County Superior Court	Christopher M. Goff
Franklin County Circuit Court	Clay M. Kellerman
Allen County Superior Court	Craig J. Bobay
Marshall County Circuit Court	Curtis D. Palmer
Marion County Superior Court	Cynthia Ayers
Johnson County Superior Court	Cynthia S. Emkes
Hancock County Superior Court	Dan E. Marshall
Hendricks County Circuit Court	Dan Zielinski
Allen County Superior Court	Daniel G. Heath
Wayne County Superior Court	Darrin M. Dolehanty
Madison County Circuit Court	David A. Happe
Kosciusko County Superior Court	David C. Cates
Marion County Superior Court	David Certo
Miami County Superior Court	David Grund
Marion County Superior Court	David J. Dreyer
Porter County Superior Court	David L. Chidester
Shelby County Superior Court	David Riggins
Marshall County Superior Court	Dean A. Colvin
Daviess County Superior Court	Dean A. Sobecki
Greene County Superior Court	Dena Benham Martin
Howard County Superior Court	Douglas A. Tate
Monroe County Circuit Court	Elizabeth Ann Cure
Elkhart County Superior Court	Evan S. Roberts
Allen County Superior Court	Frances C. Gull
Madison County Circuit Court	G. George Pancol
Marion County Superior Court	Gary L. Miller
Wayne County Superior Court	Gregory A. Horn
Daviess County Circuit Court	Gregory A. Smith
LaPorte County Superior Court	Greta S. Friedman
Elkhart County Superior Court	Gretchen Hess Lund
Sullivan County Superior Court	Hugh R. Hunt
Hamilton County Superior Court	J. Richard Campbell
LaGrange County Circuit Court	J. Scott VanDerbeck
Jasper County Superior Court	James Ahler
Marion County Superior Court	James B. Osborn
Morgan County Superior Court	Jane Spencer Craney
Grant County Superior Court	Jeffrey D. Todd
Huntington County Superior Court	Jeffrey R. Heffelfinger
Kosciusko County Superior Court	Joe V. Sutton
Indiana Small Claims Courts	John A. Kitley Jr.
Allen County Superior Court	John F. Surbeck Jr.
Delaware County Circuit Court	John M. Feick
Spencer County Circuit Court	Jonathan A. Dartt
Dearborn County Superior Court	Jonathan N. Cleary
Jennings County Circuit Court	Jonathan W. Webster
Clinton County Superior Court	Justin Hunter
Bartholomew County Superior Court	Kathleen Tighe Coriden
Owen County Circuit Court	Kelsey B. Hanlon
DeKalb County Superior Court	Kevin P. Wallace
Marion County Superior Court	Kurt Eisgruber
Carroll County Superior Court	Kurtis G. Fouts
Johnson County Superior Court	Lance Hamner
Tippecanoe County Superior Court	Laura Zeman
Vanderburgh County Superior Court	Les Shively
Delaware County Circuit Court, Indiana	Linda Wolf
LaGrange County Superior Court	Lisa M. Bowen-Slaven
Marion County Superior Court	Marc Rothenberg
Marion County Superior Court	Marcel A. Pratt, Jr.
Floyd County Superior Court	Maria Granger
Marion County Superior Court	Marilyn A. Moores
Johnson County Superior Court	Marla Clark (Indiana)
Henry County Circuit Court	Mary G. Willis
Porter County Circuit Court	Mary R. Harper
Boone County Superior Court	Matthew C. Kincaid
Decatur County Superior Court	Matthew D. Bailey
Jay County Superior Court	Max C. Ludy Jr.
Noble County Superior Court	Michael J. Kramer
Vigo County Superior Court	Michael R. Rader
LaPorte County Superior Court	Michael S. Bergerson
Indiana Small Claims Courts	Myron Hockman
Marion County Superior Court	PJ Dietrick
Adams County Superior Court	Patrick R. Miller
Hamilton County Circuit Court	Paul A. Felix
Montgomery County Superior Court	Peggy Lohorn
Randolph County Superior Court	Peter D. Haviza
Morgan County Superior Court	Peter R. Foley
Shelby County Superior Court	R. Kent Apsley
Orange County Superior Court	R. Michael Cloud
Tippecanoe County Superior Court	Randy Williams, IN
Benton County Circuit Court	Rex W. Kepner
Hendricks County Superior Court	Rhett M. Stuard
LaPorte County Superior Court	Richard Stalbrink
White County Superior Court	Robert B. Mrzlack
Sullivan County Circuit Court	Robert E. Hunley II
Porter County Superior Court	Roger V. Bradford
Ripley County Circuit Court	Ryan King
Posey County Superior Court	S. Brent Almon
Tippecanoe County Superior Court	Sean M. Persin
Marion County Superior Court	Shatrese M. Flowers
Floyd County Superior Court	Susan L. Orth
Elkhart County Superior Court	Teresa L. Cataldo
Hancock County Superior Court	Terry K. Snow
Delaware County Circuit Court	Thomas A. Cannon Jr.
Allen County Circuit Court	Thomas J. Felts
Madison County Circuit Court	Thomas L. Clem
Tipton County Circuit Court	Thomas R. Lett
Miami County Circuit Court	Timothy Spahr
Marion County Superior Court	Timothy W. Oakes
Kosciusko County Superior Court	Torrey J. Bauer
Switzerland County Circuit Court	W. Gregory Coy
Grant County Superior Court	Warren Haas
Hamilton County Superior Court	Wayne A. Sturtevant
Steuben County Superior Court	William C. Fee
Lawrence County Superior Court	William G. Sleva
Hamilton County Superior Court	William J. Hughes

Primary

For candidate lists and results from the judicial primary on May 6, 2014, please see: Indiana judicial primary elections, 2014.

Process

Judges in Indiana participate in retention elections, partisan elections or nonpartisan elections.

Retention

At the supreme and appellate levels, judges are appointed by the governor from a list of three names compiled by a judicial nominating commission. At the next general election after two years in office, those judges must face a retention election--a yes/no vote where voters choose whether or not to keep the judge in office for another term.

Superior court judges in Lake and St. Joseph Counties also stand for retention, rather than in contested elections.

Primary

In the primary, most candidates for the trial courts compete in partisan elections.

Exceptions are:

Circuit Courts

• Circuit court candidates in Vanderburgh County run in nonpartisan elections.

Superior Courts

• Superior court candidates in Allen and Vanderburgh counties compete in nonpartisan elections.
• Judges in the counties of Lake and St. Joseph, as mentioned above, stand for retention at the end of their terms.

Marion County Superior Court

Judges are elected to the Marion County Superior Court under a unique state law enacted in 2006 with the goal of reducing the influence of political parties in the judicial selection process. Under this system, judicial candidates seeking party nomination pay a fee to their party to cover campaign costs. Each party then nominates candidates for half of the open judicial seats in the primary. This judicial selection law ensures that Democrats and Republicans never run against each other in the general election and are represented equally on the bench.

Unopposed candidates

If there is no contest for a judicial seat in either the primary or general election, the candidates for that seat are not placed on the primary ballot. Candidates who are unopposed in the primary, however, must still appear on the primary ballot if there is any opposition for the seat by any other party.

Noteworthy events

The following articles were current as of the dates listed.

Primary candidate gets a second-chance at election July 17, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Big money in supreme court elections; local race decided by coin toss Todd Corne, the winner of the Republican primary for the Warrick County Circuit Court, withdrew from the race. His former primary opponent, Greg A. Granger, was appointed by Warrick County Republican Chairman Mike Griffen to appear on the general election ballot instead. Corne cited residency issues for his decision to withdraw. His wife, Kelly Corne, is a prosecutor in the neighboring Spencer County. If Corne were to move out of Warrick County, he would no longer be eligible to serve as judge. Considering the possibility of a family move, Corne decided to withdraw from the race. Corne defeated Granger with a narrow margin of about 300 votes in the close primary. Granger earned his J.D. from Indiana University in 1983, and has worked as a private practice trial attorney for more than 30 years. He is a former partner at Bowers Harrison LLP in Evansville, Indiana. He also previously served as an attorney for the Warrick County Council. Sherry D. Smith, the Democratic candidate, ran against Granger in the November election. Smith earned her undergraduate degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and went on to receive her J.D. with a concentration in employment law from the Valparaiso University School of Law. During law school, she served as a clerk for Lake County Superior Court. In 2005, Smith opened her law practice in Boonville. She has worked as a deputy prosecutor in Warrick County and currently serves as a public defender in Warrick and Vanderburgh counties. She manages the Warrick County Volunteer Lawyer Program and has been a member of the Indiana Public Defenders Council since 2008 and the Brooks Inns of Court since 2002.

Incumbent challenged in Indiana Small Claims court July 10, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Kidnapping, runoffs and voter ID An Indiana judge faced a challenge in November's election. Incumbent Danny Vaughn ran against Gerald B. Coleman for his Wayne County Township position on the Indiana Small Claims Courts. Vaughn ran on the Republican ticket and won the 2010 election for the position on the court by defeating Maxine E. King in the general election. He earned both his undergraduate and J.D. degrees from Indiana University and, in addition to his position as judge, he also works as an attorney with 32 years of experience in small claims matters.

Indiana primary election analysis May 15, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Candidate attacks The state’s primary election took place May 6. There were a total of 119 seats up for election, including 80 superior court seats and 39 circuit court seats. The table below includes stats about incumbent participation in the superior and circuit court primaries. (Races for seats on the Marion County Superior Court and the small claims courts are not included.) In contests for seats on the superior and circuit courts, unopposed incumbents ran in more than half those races. Four incumbents were defeated in the primary. These occurred in races for seats on the LaGrange County Superior Court, Tippecanoe County Superior Court and the Clark County Circuit Court. Incumbent participation and outcomes in the primary: Unopposed incumbents Incumbent with an opponent in the general Incumbent won Incumbent lost Race with no incumbent Total seats (119) 58% (69) 5.9% (7) 3.4% (4) 3.4 % (4) 29.4% (35) Superior court seats (80) 58.75% (47) 6.25% (5) 3.75% (3) 2.5% (2) 28.75 (23) Circuit court seats (39) 56.4% (22) 5.1% (2) 2.6% (1) 5.1% (2) 30.8% (12) Races for the Marion County Superior Court were not included in the table above because the county's system for choosing candidates is different from a regular primary contest. Candidates ran for a total of 16 open seats on the superior court, with eight seats being allocated for Democratic candidates and eight seats for Republican candidates. Eight Republican candidates ran in the primary, and each secured a seat. Seven of the eight candidates were incumbents. In the Democratic races, a total of 11 candidates ran for eight open seats. Three candidates were defeated. Four candidates were incumbents, and all were able to win the primary vote.

Primary results in Indiana May 8, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Judicial voting round-up Two incumbents on the Clark County Circuit Court, Jerry Jacobi and Daniel Moore, lost their seats to newcomers Laura A. Harbison and Andrew Adams. Jacobi, who received 43.6 percent of the vote, to Harbison's 56.4 percent, was one of a number of defendants in a federal civil rights lawsuit. Plantiffs in the case claimed their rights were violated when they were held in jail too long before being placed in the county's drug court program. According to The Courier-Journal, Harbison stated that she had planned to run before the lawsuit came to light but also noted the importance of restoring the program with appropriate safeguards. In a race for the seat on the Hendricks County Circuit Court, Dan Zielinski won a five-way Republican primary contest. His opponents were Suzanne X. Conger, Annie Fierek, Mark O'Hara and Eric M. Oliver. Republican Kelsey B. Hanlon also defeated Terry L. English in a primary contest for the seat on the Owen County Circuit Court, garnering 65.8 percent of the votes to English's 34.3 percent. In the race to serve as judge of the Tippecanoe County Circuit Court, Les A. Meade defeated Earl McCoy in the Republican primary 53.4 percent to 46.6 percent. Todd Corne won over Greg A. Granger in the Warrick County Circuit Court Republican primary contest, winning 54.3 percent to Granger's 45.7 percent.

Two Democrats challenge Marion County Superior Court election process May 1, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Primaries galore Two primary candidates for the Marion County Superior Court, Greg Bowes and David R. Hennessy, filed a suit in the Marion County Circuit Court, requesting that the Marion County Board of Voter Registration give them access to the same public voter records that slated candidates are able to access. The information included telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and home addresses for voters. Bowes and Hennessy said they wanted this data to use it in an effort to reach out to voters. Judges are elected to the Marion County Superior Court under a state law enacted in 2006 with the goal of reducing the influence of political parties in the judicial selection process. Under this system, judicial candidates seeking party nomination pay a fee to their party to cover campaign costs. The Indy Star reported that in the 2014 judicial election, Democrats seeking party endorsement paid $14,000 to their party, and Republican candidates paid at least $12,000. Each party then nominates candidates for half of the open judicial seats in the primary. This judicial selection law ensures that Democrats and Republicans never run against each other in the general election and both parties are represented equally on the bench. Joel Miller, chairman for the Marion County Democratic Party, argued in favor of the process because it presents voters with thoroughly vetted candidates who are well-qualified to be judges. Hennessy responded that, while Miller's statement is true, the party doesn't consider candidates unless they pay the fee. Bowes said that by not participating in the party selection process, he wanted to demonstrate to voters his independence and impartiality. The Republican primary was less contested during this election since all the Republican candidates except for one, PJ Dietrick, were incumbents. In 2013, a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on the behalf of Common Cause Indiana against Governor Mike Pence, Secretary of State Connie Lawson and the Indiana Election Commission. The suit challenged the constitutionality of limiting the number of seats a party can compete for during an election. The suit also argued that because voters are required to declare a party affiliation to participate in the primary election, the system left independent voters with no say in the county's judicial elections. Voters who do vote in the primary are only able to vote for half of the judicial positions on the ballot during an election. According to court records, state officials argued that the election law was constitutional and that it, "only imposes reasonable nondiscriminatory restrictions on voting as part of the state's important regulatory interests."

Candidate roundup: Drug court issue in Indiana's Clark County Circuit Court race May 1, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Primaries galore The Clark County Drug Court came under review in early 2014 after a participant, Destiny Hoffman, was mistakenly jailed for five months instead of 48 hours. The Indiana Supreme Court suspended the Clark County Drug Court program in February, but reinstated it conditionally in March to allow current participants to finish treatment and have their charges dropped. A federal lawsuit was filed by Hoffman and 15 others who alleged similar treatment. Judge Jerry Jacobi, the former director of the drug court program, the bailiff, sheriff, and chief probation office were all named as defendants. Jerry Jacobi ran agaisnt attorney Laura A. Harbison in the Democratic primary on May 6, 2014. Harbison said one of her goals would be to restore the drug court with better oversight. There were no Republicans running in the race, so the primary election on May 6 decided who won the seat.

Candidate roundup: Bartholomew County Superior Court April 24, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Primary match-ups across the nation Indiana's primary took place on May 6. In Bartholomew County it was a three-way race in the Republican primary between incumbent Kathleen Tighe Coriden and challengers Gregory E. Long and Jeffrey L. Logston. Judge Coriden, who previously ran for election as a Democrat, ran in the Republican primary in 2014. She previously served on the Bartholomew County Superior Court from January 1, 2000, until December 31, 2002, and returned to the court in 2009. Prior to her judicial appointment, Coriden served as the staff attorney and executive director of legal services for the counties of Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson and Jennings. Her résumé also included 22 years of experience as a part-time deputy prosecutor and work in a law practice with her son and husband. You can find out more about Coriden through her campaign website. Gregory E. Long is a native of Bartholomew County. He had over 16 years of experience as an attorney, and has served for over 13 years as a deputy prosecutor for Bartholomew County. He served as president of the board for Dancer's Studio, Inc., vice president of the board for Volunteers in Medicine, and vice president of the Bartholomew County Bar Association. His campaign website can be found online as well, at www.greglongforjudge.com. Jeffrey L. Logston, from Columbus, Indiana, had lived in Bartholomew County for 35 years at the time of the 2014 election. His legal experience included working at the Indianapolis law firm Kroger, Gardis & Regas, LLC. After nine years with that firm, he founded his own law office called Indiana Legal Mediation. He served as the city attorney and the executive director of administration for Columbus. You can find his campaign online at: www.votejeff4judge.com (dead link).

Judicial slating and ethics debate in Marion County April 10, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: The "E" word in judicial elections: Ethics Marion County uses a slating system to select judges for the ballot. The two major political parties, Republican and Democratic, each select half of the candidates who will run for the available seats on the court. Each party holds a slating convention, and votes secretly, to determine which candidates will be selected to fill their party's seats. Previously, delegates who attended the slating convention were elected by voters. The delegates would vote on which candidates to include on a party's ballot during the general election. Recently, fewer people have chosen to run and serve as delegates for their precinct. In precincts not represented by a delegate, the county chairman for the party has the authority to choose a delegate. According to an Indianapolis Star article, descriptions on the financial disclosure forms of several judicial candidates had caused concerns that the candidates could be in violation of the state's ethics laws for judges and judicial candidates. Democratic and Republican Party groups in Marion County offered judicial candidates the opportunity to be endorsed by their political party. According to the article, candidates had to pay between $12,000 and $14,000 to be placed on their party's slate. Under Indiana's Code of Judicial Conduct, candidates may make voluntary contributions to political organizations. However, rules under Canon 4 of the code prohibit candidates from paying slate fees. Marion County election officials noted that involving political parties in the election process lowered the costs for judicial candidates. In other counties where judges are selected through a more traditional election process, some candidates spent over $100,000 while campaigning during the 2012 elections. The system in Marion County was created in 2006 as a way to reduce the influence of politics in elections. The Star's article noted several candidates referenced payments they made to political parties as "fees", "payments", "slating fees" or "expenses". Kathryn Dolan, a supreme court spokeswoman, told the Star what candidates choose to call the payments may not be a consideration if any investigations regarding the practice are conducted by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications. She said several aspects of the payments are evaluated by the commission, such as whether they were given before a slating convention, whether the political party said they were expected and whether the amounts from all candidates of a political party were the same.

A lesson on Indiana's trial court system February 20, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Wisconsin primary concludes as the rest of the nation is just heating up The majority of 2014's 211 judicial candidates in Indiana ran at the trial court level. To prepare for the Indiana primary on May 6th, let's take a closer look at how trial courts are set up in the state. Trial courts are the first level of court in which cases appear in Indiana. They are courts of general jurisdiction, which means they are able to hear any civil or criminal case. Indiana has three types of trial courts: circuit courts, superior courts and city/town courts. Circuit courts are mentioned in the 1851 Indiana Constitution, which granted the General Assembly the power to create them. Out of Indiana's 92 counties, 90 have their own circuit court. The counties of Ohio and Dearborn are combined to form a single circuit. Superior courts were created by the Indiana General Assembly to meet local needs for more trial courts. Nearly all counties in Indiana have superior courts in addition to their circuit court. Superior courts perform similar functions to the circuit courts. City and town courts in Indiana are created by local ordinance. There are 47 city courts and 28 town courts in Indiana currently. These courts generally handle minor offences such as violations of city ordinances, misdemeanors and also traffic matters. In the case of an appeal at the town or city court level, the case is taken to the corresponding county circuit court to be heard.

The scoop on Indiana February 13, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: The Election Brief is back! The filing deadline for candidates in the Indiana 2014 elections passed on February 7. A total of 211 candidates for judicial positions were registered to compete in the primary election on May 6. In Indiana, circuit court elections are generally partisan with the exception of Vanderburgh County, where candidates run in nonpartisan elections. Partisan elections are also the norm in the superior courts, with the exception of Lake and St. Joseph counties, where judges are appointed by the Governor and must stand for retention after two years of service and at the end of subsequent terms. Judges on the Indiana Court of Appeals are required to face a retention election at the end of their 10-year terms. While many of the races in the primary were unopposed, a small number of races had multiple candidates. The Marion County Superior Court, located in Indianapolis, had seven candidates registered for the Republican primary and 12 for the Democratic primary. There were also five Republican candidates running for the Hendricks County Circuit Court position.

See also

• Indiana judicial elections
• Judicial selection in Indiana

External links

• Indiana Secretary of State, "Elections"

Footnotes

Indiana courts

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Federal courts:

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Indiana, Southern District of Indiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Indiana, Southern District of Indiana

State courts:

Indiana Supreme Court • Indiana Court of Appeals • Indiana Tax Court • Indiana Superior Courts • Indiana Circuit Courts • Indiana City Courts • Indiana County Courts • Indiana Municipal Courts • Indiana Small Claims Courts • St. Joseph County Probate Court • Indiana Town Courts

State resources:

Courts in Indiana • Indiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Indiana