Source: Photo: (gorodenkoff/getty images)
INDIANAPOLIS--A lawsuit has been filed asking a federal court to declare Marion County’s system of selecting judges unconstitutional.
In court documents obtained by IndyPolitics, the lawsuit filed earlier this month says Marion County’s judicial system violated the federal and state constitutions, as well as the Voting Rights Act.
It argues that if elections for Superior Court judges in Marion County were free and open, as they are in most other counties across Indiana, people who are minorities would be able to elect the judges of their choice. Instead, the Governor chooses Superior Court judges in Marion County. That same suit also says the system of judicial selection violates the Voting Rights Act because people in other counties can vote for Superior Court judges.
It claims that Marion County’s judicial selection process violates both the 1st and 14th amendments.
The plaintiffs want the court to get rid of the current system and replace it with direct elections by the voters.
