(INDIANAPOLIS) – An Indiana Supreme Court Justice is stepping down.
Justice Steve David announced he’ll retire this fall, after 11 years on the court, the longest of any of the current justices. Governor Mitch Daniels named David to the court in 2010.
Indiana’s nonpartisan Judicial Nominating Commission has up to three months to solicit applications, interview candidates, and pick three finalists to send to Governor Holcomb for the final selection. The new justice will be Holcomb’s second appointment to the court.
Holcomb calls himself a “big fan” of David, and praises the justice’s commitment to the job and the background he brought to it. David served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps before and during his tenure as a Boone County judge, including deployments to Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On the Supreme Court, David authored 158 majority opinions. He’ll continue to serve as a senior judge after leaving the high court.
Holcomb says he’ll look for a judge who will follow and apply Indiana’s Constitution. But he says Indiana’s nominating commission system makes a bad choice for the court virtually impossible.
All five justices were appointed by Republican governors: one by Holcomb, one by Mike Pence, and three, including David, by Daniels.
