1. Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States
  2. Indiana
  3. Judicial system

Indiana

Judicial system

The Indiana supreme court consists of five justices who are appointed by the governor from names submitted by a nonpartisan judicial nominating committee. To qualify for selection, a nominee must have practiced law in the state for at least 10 years or have served as judge of a lower court for at least 5 years. A justice serves for 2 years and then is subject to

Indiana Presidential Vote by Political Parties, 1948–2000
Indiana Presidential Vote by Political Parties, 1948–2000

Indiana Presidential Vote by Political Parties, 1948–2000

YEAR ELECTORAL VOTES INDIANA WINNER DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN PROGRESSIVE PROHIBITION
*Won US presidential election. **Write-in candidate Ralph Nader received 18,531 votes in 2000.
1948 13 Dewey (R) 807,833 821,079 9,649 14,711
1952 13 *Eisenhower (R) 801,530 1,136,259 1,222 15,335
1956 13 *Eisenhower (R) 783,908 1,182,811 — 6,554
1960 13 *Nixon (R) 952,358 1,175,120 — 6,746
1964 13 *Johnson (D) 1,170,848 911,118 — 8,266
          AMERICAN IND.  
1968 13 *Nixon (R) 806,659 1,067,885 243,108 4,616
          PEOPLE'S SOC. WORKERS
1972 13 *Nixon (R) 708,568 1,405,154 4,544 5,575
          AMERICAN  
1976 13 Ford (R) 1,014,714 1,185,958 14,048 5,695
          CITIZENS LIBERTARIAN
1980 13 *Reagan (R) 844,197 1,255,656 4,852 19,627
1984 12 *Reagan (R) 841,481 1,377,230 — 6,741
          NEW ALLIANCE  
1988 12 *Bush (R) 860,643 1,297,763 10,215 —
          Ind. (Perot)  
1992 12 Bush (R) 848,420 989,375 455,934 7,936
1996 12 Dole (R) 887,424 1,006,693 224,299 15,632
          (Buchanan)  
2000** 12 *Bush, G. W. (R) 901,980 1,245,836 16,959 15,530

approval by referendum in the general election; if approved by the voters, the justice serves a 10-year term before again being subject to referendum. The chief justice of the Indiana supreme court is chosen by the nominating commission and serves a 5-year term.

The state court of appeals consists of 15 justices; they serve 10-year terms. The court exercises appellate jurisdiction under rules set by the state supreme court. Both the clerk and the reporter for the state's high courts are chosen in statewide elections for 4-year terms.

Superior courts, probate courts, and circuit courts all function as general trial courts and are presided over by 279 judges who serve terms of six years. When the justice of the peace system in the counties was abolished by the state legislature in 1976, small-claims dockets (civil cases involving up to $1,500) were added to circuit and county courts.

Indiana had a prison population of 20,576 as of June 2001, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year. The state's incarceration rate stood at 336 per 100,000 inhabitants. For 2001, the FBI Crime Index reported a total crime rate of 3,831.4 per 100,000 people statewide. This included a total of 22,734 violent crimes and 211,548 crimes against property in that year. Indiana has a death penalty and has executed 11 inmates since 1977. There were 41 persons under sentence of death in 2003.