Who are the justices, judges on ballots?

Indiana voters will decide if three state Supreme Court justices and two Court of Appeals judges will keep their jobs. 

In addition, one public question will be asked about a state constitutional amendment.

5 on the ballot

Hoosier voters will decide “yes” or “no” on whether to retain each of these: Chief Justice Loretta Rush, Justices Mark Massa and Derek Molter, Judge Rudolph Pyle III (Fourth District) and Judge Peter Foley (First District).

To help voters make informed decisions about the quintet, Indiana Supreme Court’s Office of Judicial Administration has created a website with biographical information, videos of oral arguments and a link to each judge’s written opinions.

WWN has briefly summarized their biographies. More information is available at courts.in.gov/retention. 

Rush: Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed the Richmond High School graduate to the court in 2012. Voters retained her in 2014. The Judicial Nominating Commission named her Indiana’s first female chief justice in 2014. The Purdue and IU law school graduate was reappointed in 2019 and 2024. Previously, Rush was a Lafayette lawyer and was elected three times as Tippecanoe Superior Court 3 judge. 

Massa: Daniels also appointed Massa in 2012. Voters retained him in 2014. The IU journalism graduate covered courts and local government for the Evansville Press before graduating from IU’s law school. His previous roles include deputy prosecutor for Marion County, assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Indiana, Alcohol and Tobacco Commission chair, and executive director of Indiana Criminal Justice Institution. 

Molter: Gov. Eric Holcomb chose him for the state’s top court in 2022 after appointing him in 2021 to the Court of Appeals. Previously, the IU law graduate was a partner in Ice Miller’s Litigation Practice Group in Indianapolis, where he led the appellate practice and handled appeals in state and federal courts throughout the United States. He also was an attorney for Arnold & Porter LLP.  

Pyle: Daniels appointed him to the Court of Appeals in 2012. The former Indiana state trooper is a graduate of Anderson University, College of William & Mary and IU’s law school. He was a deputy prosecutor and judge in Madison County. 

Foley: Holcomb appointed him to the Court of Appeals in 2022. The IU law graduate was previously in private practice in Martinsville for 17 years and served as Morgan Superior Court 1 judge.  

Indiana State Bar Association soon will release results from a member survey asking lawyers whether these judges should be retained. The results will be accessible through a link on the state Supreme Court’s page. 

Indiana has used a merit selection process to choose and retain its appellate judges for the past 50 years. 

Once appointed, a judge must stand for retention at the first statewide general election after serving for two full years. If retained, the judge is on the retention ballot every 10 years. 

The retention system is designed to allow appellate judges to decide cases fairly and impartially, free from campaign finance considerations, and without influence by partisan politics.

Amendment

The public question asks if the state’s constitution should be amended to remove the state superintendent of public instruction from the list of officeholders who should discharge the governor’s powers and duties if the offices of governor and lieutenant governor are both vacant. 

Indiana’s position for an elected state superintendent of public instruction was eliminated in 2021. It was replaced by a governor-appointed secretary of education.