Indiana voters will be able to decide to keep or oust five Indiana judges this November, including some that upheld Indiana's near-total abortion ban.
Five state judges will be up for retention on Indiana voters’ ballots this November, an election no judge has lost in the state’s history. Who are the judges, and what exactly are they running for?
The positions up for retention are in the Indiana Supreme Court and Indiana Court of Appeals. All judges up for retention are non-partisan and not legally allowed to campaign. The Indiana Judicial Branch says the system is designed to ensure accountability for the legal system, keeping it separate and impartial from other government branches.
The governor nominates the judges out of three candidates nominated by a seven-member Judicial Nominating Commission. They go up for retention in the first election after they serve two full years, then again every 10 years.
Kathryn Dolan, the Indiana Supreme Court’s public information officer, said this is designed to separate judges from partisan politics, campaigning and fundraising considerations.
The Indiana Supreme Court is the highest legal authority in Indiana, hearing many high-profile cases. One controversial ruling came last year when the court upheld Indiana’s near-total abortion ban in a 4-1 decision. The court did, however, leave some avenues open for challenges to that ban.
The Court of Appeals hears appeals from Indiana’s trial courts and some appeals from state agencies.
Who are the judges?
Three Indiana Supreme Court judges are up for retention this election. Derek Molter, who Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb appointed to the court in 2022, is up after his initial two-year period. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and his law degree from IU’s Maurer School of Law, Molter became an associate and later a partner at the law firm Ice Miller in Indianapolis.
Mark S. Massa, appointed by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2012, is also up for retention. Massa also graduated from IU, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism and later received his law degree from the IU McKinney School of Law. Massa began his career as a journalist at The Evansville Press, worked through a litany of government positions, including clerk for an Indiana Supreme Court Justice, and later became the executive director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute — the state planning agency for criminal justice, juvenile justice, traffic safety and victim services, according to its website. He teaches at IU’s McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.
Molter and Massa concurred on the court’s opinion last year, putting Indiana’s near-total abortion ban into effect. Loretta H. Rush, the third Indiana Supreme Court judge seeking retention, concurred with a separate opinion, writing that Indiana’s constitution offered additional protections to those seeking abortions to protect their lives or prevent serious health risks.
“But Plaintiffs have not properly put these concerns before us,” she wrote in the opinion.
Rush is the court’s chief justice, also appointed by Daniels in 2012. Before her appointment, she served more than a decade as Tippecanoe Superior Court 3 judge, where she implemented programs targeting youth drug addiction. Before that, she received her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and her degree in law from IU’s Maurer School of Law.
Rush and Massa are up for their second elections after being retained in 2014.
Two out of the 15 Indiana Court of Appeals members, Peter R. Foley and Rudolph Pyle III, are also seeking retention.
Foley is running in the Indiana Court of Appeals 1st District, which encompasses southern Indiana including Monroe County. Gov. Holcomb appointed Foley in 2022 after he spent 17 years at a private law practice and 14 years as Morgan County’s county attorney. He earned two bachelor’s degrees from IU and his law degree from IU’s McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.
Pyle is seeking retention in the Indiana Court of Appeals 4th District, which covers the entire state. He earned two bachelor’s degrees from Anderson College and a master’s degree in policy from the College of William & Mary. He later served as an Indiana State Trooper and several positions in Indiana courts, until Gov. Daniels appointed him to the appellate court in 2012.
Dolan, the Indiana Supreme Court’s public information officer, said the courts are putting together a website for additional information that will be released before the election. That website, she said, will contain information about who the judges are, annual reports, decisions and other documents.
— Andrew Miller covers politics and elections for the Indiana Daily Student. Contact him at ami3@iu.edu, or direct message via X.
