Court Administrator
Steve Lancaster
Court Administrator

Media Contact
Martin DeAgostino
Communications Director
Information for the Press

Pho: 317.234-4859
Fax: 317.233.4627
martin.deagostino@courts.in.gov

Filing Information

Where to file...

Clerk of the Appellate Courts
200 W. Washington St.
216 State House
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Filing Guidelines

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Court of Appeals of Indiana > Judges of the Court of Appeals Judges of the Court of Appeals

Photo of Indiana's Court of Appeals Judges
This photo depicts the Court of Appeals of Indiana from May 2008-July 2012. Judge Carr L. Darden, front row right, retired from the court that month and now serves as a senior judge. His successor, Judge Rudolph R. Pyle III, joined the court on Aug. 27, 2012 and will be pictured in a pending court photo.

The Court of Appeals has 15 judges, each drawn from one of five Appeals Court districts. The members of the Court choose a Chief Judge, who serves a three-year term.

All are nominated by the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission, with final selection by the governor. Each faces a non-partisan retention vote in their district in the first general election following their seating on the Court and every ten years thereafter. For more information see Selection and Tenure and Indiana 's Judicial Retention System.

The three judges in each district select a presiding judge for that district for a term of one year.

The Court hears appeals only in three-judge panels, which change three times a year. All members of the Court have statewide jurisdiction. Cases are randomly assigned. In cases where there is oral argument, the senior-most judge on each three-judge panel is the presiding judge during oral argument.

Learn more about Indiana's Court of Appeals Districts

Frequently Asked Questions About Court of Appeals Judges

 

Current Judges

Click on a judge's name for a biography

First District
Judge L. Mark Bailey January 30, 1998 -
Judge John G. Baker June 2, 1989 -
Judge Edward W. Najam, Jr. December 30, 1992 -
Second District
Judge Cale J. Bradford August 1, 2007 -
Judge Ezra H. Friedlander January 7, 1993 -
Judge James S. Kirsch March 4, 1994 -
Third District
Judge Michael P. Barnes May 22, 2000 -
Judge Terry A. Crone March 8, 2004 -
Judge Paul D. Mathias March 30, 2000 -
Fourth District
Judge Melissa S. May April 9, 1998 -
Judge Rudolph R. Pyle III  Aug. 27, 2012 -  
Judge Patricia A. Riley January 1, 1994 -
Fifth District
Judge Elaine B. Brown May 5, 2008 -
Judge Margret G. Robb, Chief Judge July 6, 1998 -
Judge Nancy H. Vaidik February 7, 2000 -

Senior Judges

Click on a judge's name for a biography

The Court of Appeals utilizes the expertise of four of its alumni members to help reduce caseload burdens. Senior judges, provided for by Indiana law (I.C. § 33-23-3-1 et seq.), are former judges named to work part-time at trial courts across the state. In 1998, the law was amended to allow senior judges to contribute to the work of the Court of Appeals. Court of Appeals senior judges serve on three-judge panels and on the Court's motions panel.

Judge Betty Barteau January 1, 2005 -
Judge Carr L. Darden  July 24, 2012 -  
Judge William I. Garrard January 25, 2000 -
Judge John T. Sharpnack May 5, 2008 -
Judge Randall T. Shepard March 15, 2012 
Judge Patrick D. Sullivan August 1, 2007 -

Historical Listing of Court of Appeals Judges

Including dates of service, dating back to 1891.

Court of Appeals Administrator

Steven F. Lancaster