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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Ind. Courts - Five candidates named for vacancy on St. Joseph Superior Court

From a release dated 9/11/06:

The St. Joseph Superior Court Judicial Nominating Commission today submitted to Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. its list of five candidates to fill a vacancy on the St. Joseph Superior Court, Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr., announced today. The vacancy will occur on September 30, 2006 when the Honorable William H. Albright retires. From the list, Governor Daniels will appoint Judge Albright's successor. The nominees are:
  • Mark A. Kopinski, 47, a sole practitioner and public defender and former deputy prosecutor in St. Joseph County.
  • Marielena Lindke, 35, a deputy prosecutor in Elkhart County and former deputy prosecutor in St. Joseph County.
  • Hon. Richard Leo McCormick, 38, a Magistrate of the St. Joseph Superior Court.
  • Jane Woodward Miller, 56, an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School and former Magistrate of the St. Joseph Probate Court.
  • Jeffrey Lane Sanford, 47, a sole practitioner and assistant city attorney and former public defender in St. Joseph County.
Under state law, the Commission must submit to the governor a list of five candidates with written evaluations of the qualifications of each candidate. Following his receipt today of the list of nominees, Governor Daniels has 60 days in which to make his appointment to the St. Joseph Superior Court. In the event he does not do so, the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court shall make the appointment from the list of nominees.

The Indiana General Assembly established the Nominating Commission in 1973. It consists of seven members. Three of the members must be lawyers elected by the lawyers of the county. Three must be non-lawyers appointed by a committee consisting of the judge of the St. Joseph Circuit Court, the mayors of South Bend and Mishawaka, and the president of the board of St. Joseph County commissioners. The seventh member, who serves as chairman of the Commission, must be a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court or a judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals, and appointed by the Chief Justice of Indiana. Pursuant to this position, Justice Sullivan serves as chairman.

For background, see this ILB entry from 9/5/06.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 12, 2006 03:16 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts