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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Ind. Courts - "Judges receive 'yes' votes from bar members"

The ISBA has just issued this press release:

INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 15, 2008) -- The Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) has completed its compilation of the 2008 Judicial Retention Poll responses. Results indicate overwhelming support, by ISBA members, of the three Indiana Supreme Court justices, one Indiana Court of Appeals judge and the Indiana Tax Court judge seeking retention.

For the first time, ISBA members were surveyed electronically. Of the 8,058 members polled, nearly 1,500 cast ballots. "An 18.5 percent response rate is terrific when one considers that relatively few attorneys have direct contact with the appellate courts, other than to read their opinions," observes ISBA President R. William Jonas Jr. of South Bend. "Armed with these results and the valuable information at the Indiana Courts retention Web site (http://www.state.in.us/judiciary/retention), the citizens of Indiana can and will make an informed decision on Election Day."

The yes/no retention results are as follows:

Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard: Y-83.3%; N-16.7%; 1,489 votes cast

Justice Theodore R. Boehm: Y-90.3%; N-9.7%; 1,416 votes cast

Justice Brent E. Dickson: Y-88.6%; N-11.4%; 1,401 votes cast

Judge Carr L. Darden: Y-87.2%; N-12.8%; 1,332 votes cast

Judge Thomas G. Fisher: Y-88.0%; N-12.0%; 1,332 votes cast

Appellate court judges face an approval vote in the first general election that occurs at least two years after their appointment, and every 10 years thereafter. Indiana voters will have an opportunity to cast their ballot concerning the judges' retention on Nov. 4.

Compare these results against the results of 2006 poll, when paper ballots were mailed out.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 15, 2008 08:54 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts | Judicial Retention