Indiana’s top judges remain in office despite opposition – Indianapolis News | Indiana weather | Indiana Traffic

by Nicky Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle

Published: November 6, 2024 12:13 pm EST / Updated: November 6, 2024 12:13 pm EST

(CHRONICLE OF INDIANA’S CAPITAL) — Three Indiana Supreme Court justices up for retention will remain on the state’s highest court, unofficial returns showed on election night.

An update from the Indiana Division of Elections at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night showed Chief Judge Loretta Rush, Judge Mark Massa and Judge Derek Molter easily received the approval.

Judicial detention is usually a foregone conclusion during election season, but a massive social media campaign has begun remove three because they supported Indiana abortion ban.

About 71% of Hoosiers voted to keep Rush, 69% of Mass and 69% of Molter.

Both Rush and Mass were up for retention in 2014; their approval then stood at 69% and 67%, respectively. Tuesday marked the first vote to retain Molter since he was appointed to the position in 2022.

Indiana has used a merit selection process to select and retain its appellate judges for the past 50 years. Once appointed, a judge must run for retention in the first statewide general election after the judge has served a full two years. If retained, the judge is placed on the ballot every 10 years. The retention system is designed to ensure that appellate judges can decide cases fairly and impartially, independent of campaign finance considerations and uninfluenced by partisan politics.

No Indiana Supreme Court justice has lost his or her voting rights since the trial began in 1970, according to Indiana Lawyer magazine.

Hoosier voters also retained two appellate judges: Judge Rudolph “Rudy” Pyle III and Judge Peter Foley.