(First District)
421 State House
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-232-6895
Judge Leanna K. Weissmann was appointed to the Court of Appeals of Indiana by Governor Eric J. Holcomb on September 14, 2020, and was retained in 2022.
Judge Weissmann graduated cum laude from Indiana University in 1991 with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Journalism and English. She earned her law degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1994, graduating cum laude. From 1994-1995, she served as an appellate law clerk for Justice Robert D. Rucker (then judge for the Court of Appeals of Indiana).
For over 20 years, Judge Weissmann operated a solo appellate practice in Aurora, Indiana, representing criminal defendants and civil litigants in appellate litigation. She established a pro bono appellate program through her practice website that allowed indigent participants to apply for free legal representation. A veteran of appellate advocacy, she filed more than 400 appeals and participated in more than 50 oral arguments before the Court of Appeals of Indiana and the Indiana Supreme Court. In 2018, she won reversal in the United States Supreme Court on a case involving a complex Fourth Amendment issue.
Judge Weissmann served as a part-time judicial referee for Dearborn Superior Court 1 from 2000 to 2006, presiding over tenancy claims, small claims disputes, pro se civil trials, and initial hearings on criminal cases. In 2006, she was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels as Trustee on the board of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI), serving through 2008 and helping to administer federal grant funds for criminal justice programs.
Her trial experience as an attorney includes multiple jury trials and hundreds of bench trials in the areas of collections, personal injury, custody issues, and real estate. Judge Weissmann has also presided as a hearing officer over two attorney reinstatement cases and served as an appellate advocate for Indiana's Juvenile Defense Project, a program aimed at improving access to justice for juveniles facing potential incarceration.
Judge Weissmann was a member of the Indiana Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Commission from 2013 to 2023, and while serving as chair of the Commission, she contributed to and organized the Commission's first ethics advisory opinion. In 2017, she was named a Fellow by the Indiana Bar Foundation for her efforts with the economically disadvantaged.
Judge Weissmann is an active member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Bar Association, where she serves on the Appellate Judges Council Executive Board. She served as co-chair of Hoosier CLE's Annual Indiana Law Survey from 2021-2024, is a frequent speaker and facilitator for the Public Defender Council and other organizations, and has presented for the National Counsel of Law Disciplinary Boards (NCLDB). She is a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts and the Indiana University Alumni Association.
Interested in AI applications for courts, Judge Weissmann participated in the National Courts and Sciences Institute's AI Initiative and chaired the Supreme Court's Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future’s Technology Applications Subgroup.
A strong advocate for civics education, Judge Weissmann created a constitutional program for elementary school students in 2001 and continues presenting it to local Indiana classrooms. She authored Redefining Justice for Emerging Adults: How Specialty Courts Can Provide Life Changing Intervention, 55 Ind. L. Rev. 53 (2022), and coedited Defense of Justice: Tales from the Trenches (forthcoming July 2025).
In her free time, Judge Weissmann likes to read, listen to podcasts, and spend time with her adult children. An avid runner, she has completed half marathons in 31 states toward her goal of racing in all 50 states.
Robing Ceremony Webcast
Educational Materials
Judge Weissmann has developed the following lessons where you can get to know the signers through role play: