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.