Indiana Supreme Court
Justice Biographies
 
Justice Debruler

Justice Roger O. Debruler
(Ninety-Fifth Justice)

Justice DeBruler was born in Evansville, Indiana in 1934.119

He received an A.B. from Indiana University in 1958 and an LL.B in 1960 from Indiana University School of Law.120 He was admitted to practice in Indiana in 1960 and served as Deputy City Prosecutor of Indianapolis from 1960 to 1963.121 He was appointed Steuben Circuit Court Judge in 1963 and elected to the same position in 1964.122 When Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mote died in office, Justice DeBruler was appointed as his successor.123 The appointment came in late September, 1968 and because the Indiana Constitution provides that an appointment lasts until the next election, there was some controversy over whether the election should occur in 1968 or in 1970.124 He was appointed through 1970 and was then elected to the Indiana Supreme Court for a six-year term.125 He retired from the bench on August 8, 1996 having written 886 majority and 590 dissenting opinions.126

119. AMERICAN BENCH 901 (Marie T. Finn et al. eds., 8th ed. 1995); Hon. Roger O. DeBruler Succeeds Hon. Donald R. Mote on Supreme Court, RES GESTAE, Oct. 1968, at 17, 17.
120. AMERICAN BENCH, supra note 119, at 901.
121. Id.
122. Hon. Roger O. DeBruler Succeeds Hon. Donald R. Mote on Supreme Court, RES GESTAE, Oct. 1968, at 17, 17.
123. Id.
124. Charges Fly in Court Hassle, INDIANAPOLIS NEWS, Sept. 25, 1968, at 4; Branigin Puts DeBruler on High Court, INDIANAPOLIS NEWS, Sept. 30, 1968, at 1.
125. Judicial Retention Subject of Bar Poll, 30 RES GESTAE 109, 109 (1986).
126. Suzanne McBride, Court Bids Adieu to Free Thinker, INDIANAPOLIS STAR, Aug. 8, 1996, at D1.

Source: Browning, Minde C., Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt. "Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices." Indiana Law Review: Vol. 30, No. 1, 1997. View this source in PDF format.
 
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