Supreme Court of Indiana

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Current Supreme Court Justices. Left to right, Justices: Sullivan, Dickson, Shepard, Rucker, and Boehm
Current Supreme Court Justices. Left to right, Justices: Sullivan, Dickson, Shepard, Rucker, and Boehm

The Supreme Court of Indiana is the state supreme court in the state of Indiana. It was established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution and is the highest judicial body within Indiana. The court is located at Indianapolis within the north wing of the Indiana State House building.

Contents

[edit] Organization

The court currently consists of one Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, the constitutional minimum. The Indiana General Assembly may increase the number of Associate Justices to a maximum eight for a total of nine Justices. [1]

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When there is a vacancy on the court, a new justice is nominated using a variant of the Missouri Plan. First a list of three qualified nominees is created by a Judicial Nominating Commission who then submit the list to the Governor. The Governor then picks the new Justice from the list. If the Governor fails to do so within 60 days, the Chief Justice or the acting Chief Justice must do so. Once a new Justice is chosen, they will serve for two years and then must be approved by the electorate during a general election.[1]

The Chief Justice is appointed for terms of five years and presides over the court. When the position of Chief Justice becomes vacant the most senior member of the court serves as the acting Chief Justice until a new Chief Justice is appointed.[1]

The court is assisted in its administrative duties by a board of five commissioners. The commissioners are nominated by the Judicial Nominating Commission and appointed by the governor. The court also employs several clerks and staffers to maintain court records and assist in the general operations of the court.[2]

[edit] Terms

Article Seven of the state constitution governs the term length of supreme court justices.[3]

  • Once appointed a Justice may serve the initial two years of his potential ten year term.
  • After completing two years the Justice must be approved in a statewide election to be eligible to complete him term of ten years.
  • The Chief Justice may serve a term of five years and is also subject to a statewide election after two years.
  • After a term is completed, a Justice must be reappointed by the same process used to appoint him originally in order to remain on the court.
  • A Justice can be impeached by a majority vote of both houses of the Indiana General Assembly.
  • A Justice must retire at age 75 even if the term in incomplete.

[edit] Qualification

The eligibility requirements to be nominated as a justice of the Supreme Court are established in Article Seven of the Indiana Constitution.[3]

  • Must be a citizen of the United States
  • Must reside within the state of Indiana
  • Must have been admitted to the practice of law in Indiana for ten years or must have served as a judge of a circuit, superior or criminal court of the State of Indiana for five years
  • Must not be under an indictment in any court in the United States with a crime punishable as a felony

[edit] Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court has no original jurisdiction in most cases, this means that it can only hear cases that are appealed to the court after having been previously heard in lower courts. After a case is tried by the Indiana Court of Appeals the parties can appeal the decision to the Indiana Supreme Court. The court can choose to hear the case and possibly overturn to the previous judgment or the court can decline to accept the case and uphold the decision of the lower courts.[4]

The Supreme Court does has original and sole jurisdiction in certain specific areas including the practice of law, discipline or disbarment of those admitted to state courts, and supervision over the exercise of jurisdiction by the other courts of the State.[4]

[edit] Current Justices

[edit] History

The Indiana Supreme Court was first established in 1816 when Indiana was granted statehood. The court replaced the General Court of the Indiana Territory that had consisted of a three member panel. The new Supreme Court held its first session in Corydon on May 5, 1817. The first Supreme Court was housed in a three room building it shared with the state legislature. Under the original constitution the Justices were appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the General Assembly after which they would serve a term of six years. The court's first major decisions occurred during it's first decade when, through a series of decision, the court upheld the state's anti-slavery and anti-indenturing laws and ultimately freed slaves in the state.[5]

In 1824 the Supreme Court relocated to Indianapolis, along the the rest of the state government. There the court shared space in the Marion County Courthouse and the Third Statehouse before coming to reside at its present location within the fourth Indiana statehouse in 1888. The Supreme Court occupies the entire north wing of the second floor of the Indiana Statehouse.[5]

In 1850, the Supreme Court was reorganized as part of the new state constitution. The Justices were made subject to a retention election, judicial terms where changed to twn years, and the court size was set at between three and five Justices. The court's three judges quickly became overwhelmed by the ever increasing population of the state and court was increased to four member in 1853 and five member in 1872. The court has remained at five justices since then.[5]

The Supreme Court's case load continued to grow and in 1881 the General Assembly approved a panel of five commissioners to assist the Justices in their administrative tasks. Even this was not enough to handle the load and in 1891 an Appellate Court of Indiana was created to handle many of the cases of lower importance. At first the appellate court only took a small portion of the Supreme Courts caseload but it was gradually increased.[5]

In 1970 the court was again reorganized by a several constitutional amendments. The Appellate Court was made constitutional and renamed the Indiana Court of Appeals. The new Court of Appeals allowed the Supreme Court to choose which cases it would hear, and which cases it would leave to the lower courts. The 1970 amendment also lengthened judicial terms to ten years and changed the limits on the size of the court by requiring a new minimum of five and a maximum of nine members. The amendment also provided for the creation the Judicial Election Commission giving the General Assembly more control over the appointment of judges.[5]

[edit] Landmark cases

  • State v. Lasselle, (1820) - Freed all slaves in the state of Indiana.
  • Falkenburg v. Jones (1889) - Established the right for a defendant to obtain court records[6]
  • Callendar v. State (1917) - Evidence that was obtained illegally cannot be submitted as evidence.[7]
  • Smith v. State, (1921) - Eugenics is declared unconstitutional.
  • Democratic Party v. State, (2008) - Court upholds Indiana's voter ID laws.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Article 7, Section 10, Indiana Constitution.
  2. ^ Supreme Court Clerkships. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  3. ^ a b Indiana Constitution Article 7
  4. ^ a b Indiana Constitution Article 7 Section 4
  5. ^ a b c d e Indiana Historical Bureau. History and Origins. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  6. ^ David J. Bodenhamer & Randall T. Shepard (2006). pages=126 Indiana Law. Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821416375. 
  7. ^ David J. Bodenhamer & Randall T. Shepard (2006). Indiana Law. Ohio University Press, 131. ISBN 0821416375. 

[edit] External links


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