The Senate Judiciary Committee heard SB 352, authored by Sen. R. Michael Young and Sen. Waltz, establishing the Marion County judicial selection committee to appoint and nominate judges for the Marion superior court. This bill provides that judges of the Marion superior court will be initially appointed by the Marion County judicial selection committee and may be retained in office thereafter by vote of the electorate. Sen. R. Michael Young testified that he was meeting with the Indiana Supreme Court this week to discuss this method of judicial selection.
The bill was amended to clarify the retention procedure. Representatives from the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Judicial Selection Taskforce testified in support of the bill, but believe it would be better if the judicial selection committee was a majority of lawyers. Common Cause, as well as a few Indianapolis community members, testified against the bill, suggesting Lake or St. Joseph County as a model for judicial selection. The amended bill passed 5-2.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/senate/352