Supreme Court of Indiana Decisions
Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution provides the authority for the Indiana Supreme Court, which consists of five justices. The Indiana General Assembly may increase the size of the Court to nine justices. The Court reviews direct appeals of cases in which the defendant was sentenced to death or life in prison, as well as cases in which a trial court has determined that a statute is unconstitutional. The Court also reviews decisions by the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Tax Court, and it can review sentencing decisions in lower courts. It holds exclusive jurisdiction over matters related to the legal profession in Indiana, such as sanctions issued to lawyers and judges. The Court also holds exclusive jurisdiction over certain other matters, such as post-conviction relief in cases involving a death sentence.
When a new justice needs to be chosen, the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission will provide the Governor of Indiana with a list of three nominees. To be eligible for consideration, a candidate must have practiced law in Indiana for at least 10 years or have served as a trial court judge for at least five years. The Commission uses guidelines provided in Public Law 427 to develop the list. The Governor then has 60 days to choose the new justice. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will choose the new justice if the Governor fails to decide within 60 days. Each justice must go through a retention election in the first general election after two years have passed since their appointment. If they secure retention, they will serve a full 10-year term before seeking retention again. Each justice must retire when they reach the age of 75.
The Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court serves a renewable five-year term. The Judicial Nominating Commission fills this position as well. If there is a vacancy, the most senior justice currently serving on the Court will become the Acting Chief Justice until the appointment of a new Chief Justice.
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Recent Decisions From the Supreme Court of Indiana
Date: September 25, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-CQ-00108
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court agreed with Plaintiffs in this declaratory judgment action, holding that Ind. Code 3-9-2-3 to -6 prohibits or otherwise limits corporate contributions to political action committees (PACs) or other…
Date: September 25, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-CT-00116
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff on her claims against Defendant, a hospital who mailed a letter containing Plaintiff's…
Date: September 25, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-PL-00114
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court in favor of Reagan Outdoor Advertising in this appeal from the determination that Reagan's billboard had lost its legal nonconforming status, holding that the…
Date: August 10, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-JD-00033
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court found that the Honorable Jason A. Cichowicz, Judge of the St. Joseph Probate Court, engaged in judicial misconduct and concluded that Judge Cichowicz shall be suspended from the office of Judge of the…
Date: July 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22S-CT-00381
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the trial court denying Hoosier Contractors, LLC's motion for summary judgment, denying Sean Gardner's motion for partial summary judgment, and…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 22S-PL-00338
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated a preliminary injunction granted by the trial court preliminarily enjoining the State from enforcing Senate Bill 1, which broadly prohibits abortion but makes exceptions in three circumstances,…
Date: June 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22S-CT-00371
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the trial court granting summary judgment for Appellant's mental health providers for not preventing his crime of voluntary manslaughter, holding that Defendant was collaterally…
Date: June 29, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-CR-00165
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court excluding certain testimony from the jury trial of Defendant's habitual offender status, holding that the trial court did not err by excluding the…
Date: June 28, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-CP-00059
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the summary judgment granted by the trial court in favor of a school corporation that contractually agreed to make biannual payments to a company for access to a wind turbine, holding that the…
Date: June 27, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-CR-00163
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court suppressing incriminating statements Defendant made immediately following a polygraph examination, holding that before excluding evidence as a Trial Rule 37…
Date: June 26, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-PO-00089
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court finding that Father committed an act of domestic or family violence against Child and that he represented a credible threat to the family's safety and thus…
Date: June 22, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-CR-00013
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court excluding the opinion testimony from three of Defendant's family members regarding the victim's untruthful character, holding that the trial court erred in…
Date: June 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22S-CT-00318
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court dismissing a Monroe County action with prejudice and denying Appellant's motions to correct error and to amend her complaint, holding that a plaintiff seeking…
Date: June 20, 2023
Docket Number: 23S-AD-00158
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from a decision of the court of appeals requiring Adoptive Parents to provide notice to biological Father of the temporary custody of Child, rending the trial court's temporary…
Date: June 8, 2023
Docket Number: 21S-LW-00333
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder, felony robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, and two counts of criminal confinement and his sentence of life without parole for the murder conviction,…
