Massa replaces Ind. Supreme Court chief justice after he retires

Mark Massa, who began his legal career as a law clerk for Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard, was selected to replace Shepard on the court by Gov. Mitch Daniels on Friday.

“Any selection of a person to the highest court in our state is among the most serious calls any governor can be called on to make,” Daniels said in a press conference Friday. “When you are trying to find a replacement for Randy Shepard, it is an even more sobering and challenging experience. How appropriate that he began his lengthy and multi-faceted legal career clerking for Randy Shepard on the Supreme Court.”

Massa, the executive director of the Criminal Justice Institute, received his undergraduate degree in journalism from IU in 1983 and his law degree from the IU School of Law-Indianapolis in 1989.

He has been a federal and state prosecutor, chairman of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and served as Daniels’ general counsel before being named to the state’s high court.

“Mark Massa’s tenure on the Supreme Court will demonstrate that he has the character, mental power and generosity of heart to serve in ways that will make Indiana a place of greater justice,” Shepard said.

Shepard ended his time on the court Friday, the same day Daniels named Massa to the court.

“On Monday, you said it felt as if we lost our Peyton Manning, and that’s true,” Massa said of Shepard’s retirement. “I cannot put into words what it means to be appointed to this position by my governor to succeed my judge.”

Massa said at the press conference that he plans to judge based on precedent and, when precedent doesn’t apply, on author’s intent.

Massa will not replace Shepard as chief justice: Instead, Justice Brent Dickson will serve as acting chief justice.

The state’s Judicial Nominating Commission has the responsibility of selecting a new chief justice.

“This is a sobering responsibility and an honor beyond words,” Massa said. “There cannot be a better cause or way to spend one’s life than in working toward greater justice.”

— Charles Scudder