Marion County Judges would no longer be elected under legislation being considered by Indiana lawmakers, instead they would picked by a commission.
The bill is the result of a federal court ruling which found the current system of choosing judges in Marion County unconstitutional. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that the judicial “slating” system violated the Constitution because a judge who won the primary won the election because slots were reserved for Republicans and Democrats.
Under the HB 1036 a 14-member panel would select judges based on legal experience, temperament, etc.
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The 14-member Marion County judicial selection committee would consisting of:
- One member appointed by the Speaker of the House
- One member appointed by the House Minority Leader
- One member appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate
- One member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader
- None of the 4 appointees can be a member of the General Assembly
- One member,who is an attorney practicing primarily criminal law, appointed by the president of the Indianapolis Bar Association
- One member, who is an attorney practicing primarily criminal law, appointed by the president of the Marion County Bar Association
- One member, who is an attorney, appointed by the president of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association
- One member, who is an attorney, appointed by the president of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana
- Two members appointed by the Marion County Democratic Party, one of which must be a woman or minority or both
- Two members appointed by the Marion County Republican Party, one of which must be a woman or minority or bothOne member, who is either the chief judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals OR the chief judge’s designees who is a judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals
- Member will serve as vice chairperson of the committee
- One member, who is the chief justice of Indiana or a designee of the chief justice OR the chief justice’s designee
- Member will serve as chairperson of the committee
The first 12 members must be Marion County residents. In addition, no more than 52% of the committee members can be more of the same political party. The bill also has procedures for retention as well.
Indy Politics spoke with HB 1036 author Greg Steuerwald (R-Avon) about the measure. You can hear him in the Leon-Tailored audio above. It runs about nine minutes.