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Judges appointed by Eric Holcomb

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This page lists judges appointed by Eric Holcomb (R) during his term as Governor of Indiana. As of today, the total number of Holcomb appointees was 50. For the full profile of Holcomb, click here.

As of December 2018, governors in Indiana were responsible for appointing judges to the five-member supreme court and 15-member appellate court, as well as certain local courts.[1]

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Indiana judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Holcomb.

Appointed judges

The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state.

State Courts

Supreme Court

Name Court Active

Christopher M. Goff

Indiana Supreme Court

July 24, 2017 - Present

Derek Molter

Indiana Supreme Court

September 1, 2022 - Present

Court of Appeals

Name Court Active

Peter R. Foley

Indiana Court of Appeals 1st District

October 11, 2022 - Present

Leanna Weissmann

Indiana Court of Appeals 1st District

2020 - Present

Dana J. Kenworthy

Indiana Court of Appeals 2nd District

January 17, 2023 - Present

Derek Molter

Indiana Court of Appeals 2nd District

October 1, 2021 - September 1, 2022

Elizabeth Tavitas

Indiana Court of Appeals 3rd District

July 19, 2018 - Present

Stephen Scheele

Indiana Court of Appeals 3rd District

January 8, 2025 - Present

Mary DeBoer

Indiana Court of Appeals 4th District

October 15, 2024 - Present

Paul A. Felix

Indiana Court of Appeals 5th District

July 28, 2023 - Present


Other State Courts

Name Court Active

Justin McAdam

Indiana Tax Court

September 1, 2023 - Present

Local Courts

Name Court Active

Andrew Williams

Allen County Superior Court Civil Division No. 1

August 14, 2020 - Present

Jennifer DeGroote

Allen County Superior Court Civil Division No. 3

2019 - Present

Steven Godfrey

Allen County Superior Court Criminal Division No. 4

December 31, 2020 - Present

David M. Zent

Allen County Superior Court Criminal Division No. 6

January 1, 2019 - Present

Andrea Trevino

Allen County Superior Court Family Relations Division No. 7

March 21, 2018 - Present

Lori Morgan

Allen County Superior Court Family Relations Division, No. 8

May 18, 2021 - Present

Nicholas Karaffa

Clark County Circuit Court

November 2, 2022 - Present

David Lynn McCord

Henry County Circuit Court

Russell Bailey

Jasper County Superior Court

Douglas Nugent

Johnson County Superior Court

Tiffany Vivo

Marion County Circuit Court

January 1, 2022 - January 1, 2023

Ryan K. Gardner

Marion County Superior Court

January 1, 2021 - Present

Geoffrey Gaither

Marion County Superior Court

January 1, 2021 - Present

Marie Kern

Marion County Superior Court

February 21, 2024 - Present

Marshelle Broadwell

Marion County Superior Court

January 1, 2021 - Present

Jeffrey Marchal

Marion County Superior Court

2022 - Present

Charnette D. Garner

Marion County Superior Court

January 1, 2019 - Present

Stephen Creason

Marion County Superior Court

Jennifer P. Harrison

Marion County Superior Court

January 1, 2019 - Present

Cynthia L. Oetjen

Marion County Superior Court

February 24, 2021 - Present

Mark A. Jones

Marion County Superior Court

January 1, 2019 - 2022

Charles F. Miller

Marion County Superior Court

Melanie Kendrick

Marion County Superior Court

Philip Sheward

Marion County Superior Court

Danielle Gaughan

Marion County Superior Court

2022 - Present

Matthew Sarber

Marshall County Superior Court No. 2

July 1, 2021 - Present

Sara Dungan

Morgan County Superior Court No. 3

Steven Clouse

Noble County Superior Court II

Steven Clark Hagen

Noble County Superior Court II

Mary DeBoer

Porter County Circuit Court No. 1

December 31, 2019 - October 15, 2024

Jeffrey Clymer

Porter County Superior Court II

Crystal Brucker

Pulaski County Superior Court

Stephanie Steele

St. Joseph County Superior Court

May 4, 2021 - Present

Cristal Brisco

St. Joseph County Superior Court

Sean M. Persin

Tippecanoe County Circuit Court

Gary Schutte

Vanderburgh County Superior Court

2020 - Present

Jill Wesch

Vermillion County Circuit Court

2018 - Present

Amy Conner Cornell

Wabash County Superior Court

April Drake

Wayne County Circuit Court

June 18, 2021 - Present


Judicial selection process

See also: Judicial selection in Indiana
Judicial selection in Indiana
Judicialselectionlogo.png
Indiana Supreme Court
Method:   Assisted appointment
Term:   2 or 10 years[2]
Indiana Court of Appeals
Method:   Assisted appointment
Term:   2 or 10 years[3]
Indiana Circuit Courts
Method:   Partisan election
Term:   6 years
Indiana Superior Courts
Method:   Partisan election
Term:   6 years


Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.

This article covers how state court judges are selected in Indiana, including:

As of April 2025, Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges in Indiana were selected through the assisted appointment method, where the governor selects a nominee from a list provided by a nominating commission. Most Superior Court and Circuit Court judges were selected through partisan elections, though some exceptions exist where judges were selected through nonpartisan elections or by assisted appointment. Judges seeking to serve more than one term must stand for retention or re-election, depending on the position's selection method.[4] Judges' terms begin on January 1 following their election.[5]

Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.

Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[6]


State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[6]
Method Supreme Court (of 53)[7] Courts of Appeal (of 46) Trial Courts (of 147)
Partisan elections (PE) 8 6 39
Nonpartisan elections (NPE) 13 16 34
Legislative elections (LE) 2 2 5
Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) 5 3 6
Assisted appointment (AA) 22 18 46
Combination or other 3[8] 1[9] 17[10]

State profile

Demographic data for Indiana
 IndianaU.S.
Total population:6,612,768316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):35,8263,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:84.2%73.6%
Black/African American:9.2%12.6%
Asian:1.9%5.1%
Native American:0.2%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:6.4%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:87.8%86.7%
College graduation rate:24.1%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$49,255$53,889
Persons below poverty level:18.4%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Indiana.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Indiana

Indiana voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Indiana, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[11]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Indiana had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Indiana coverage on Ballotpedia

See also

Indiana Judicial Selection More Courts
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Footnotes

  1. Superior court judges from the counties of Lake, Marion, and St. Joseph were appointed by the governor from lists of potential candidates submitted by the local nominating commissions (this excludes judges of Lake County's county division superior court, who must be elected). Judges then stand for retention in the first general election taking place two or more years after their appointment.
  2. Following his or her appointment, judges must stand for retention at the first even-year, statewide general election after he or she has served two full years. Subsequent terms are 10 years.
  3. Following his or her appointment, judges must stand for retention at the first even-year, statewide general election after he or she has served two full years. Subsequent terms are 10 years.
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named INgen
  5. Indiana General Assembly, "Title 33. Courts and Court Officers," accessed Aug. 23, 2021
  6. 6.0 6.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
  7. Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
  8. Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
  9. Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
  10. Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
  11. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.