"The health of our entire legal system—both state and federal—depends on having a competent and independent state judiciary... How we choose our state judges, and how we decide whether to keep them in office or not, is of critical importance."
—the Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor
Retired Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Judges up for Retention in 2022
The following judges will appear on the November 2022 ballot for retention.
See the State Bar Association's 2022 Judicial Retention Poll results
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush
Indiana Supreme Court
Loretta H. Rush took the oath of office as Indiana's 108th Supreme Court Justice in November 2012 after being appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels. She was retained by voters in 2014. The Judicial Nominating Commission named her Indiana’s first female Chief Justice in August 2014, and she was reappointed in 2019. As Chief Justice, Rush is responsible for supervising Indiana’s judicial branch. This supervision includes working with the state legislature to secure funding and allocate resources appropriately and overseeing a multi-agency central administrative office that handles everything from caseload measures and technology updates to the admission and discipline of lawyers.
Chief Justice Rush is the Immediate Past-President of the Conference of Chief Justices and a member of the National Center for State Courts Board of... [keep reading]
Biography
Oral argument videos
Written opinions
Justice Mark S. Massa
Indiana Supreme Court
Mark S. Massa was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court by Governor Mitch Daniels in March 2012. He was retained by voters in 2014.
He is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and came to Indiana in 1979 to attend Indiana University. He graduated from IU in 1983 with a degree in journalism, and after internships at the South Bend Tribune and Milwaukee Sentinel, he joined the staff of The Evansville Press, where he was an award-winning sportswriter and covered the courts and local government. In 1985, he became a deputy press secretary and speechwriter for Governor Robert Orr; he later graduated from the evening division of the IU McKinney School of Law, clerked for Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard and joined the Marion... [keep reading]
Biography
Oral argument videos
Written opinions
Justice Derek R. Molter
Indiana Supreme Court
Derek R. Molter was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court by Governor Eric Holcomb on June 10, 2022, and was sworn in on September 1. He was previously appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Eric Holcomb and began his service on October 1, 2021. He is originally from Newton County.
Justice Molter received his B.A., with High Distinction, from Indiana University in 2004. While at I.U. he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was active in student government. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2007. While in law school, he was the Executive Notes & Comments Editor for the Indiana Law Journal and a member of the Order of the Coif. Before joining... [ keep reading ]
Biography
Oral argument videos
Supreme Court opinions | Court of Appeals opinions
Judge Rudolph R. Pyle III
Court of Appeals of Indiana, Fourth District
Judge Rudolph R. Pyle III was appointed to the Court of Appeals of Indiana by Gov. Mitch Daniels and took his seat on Aug. 27, 2012.
A native of Rhode Island, Judge Pyle graduated from Anderson University in 1992 with degrees in history and political science. Immediately following graduation from Anderson University, Judge Pyle began his studies for a Masters Degree at the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. This course of study focused on the “institutions and processes of public policy, the economic foundations of policy analysis, quantitative and statistical methods for analyzing policy, and a variety of specialized policy topics.” Graduating in 1994, Judge Pyle returned to Indiana to become an Indiana State... [keep reading]
Biography
Oral argument videos
Written opinions
Judge Peter R. Foley
Court of Appeals of Indiana, First District
Peter (“Pete”) R. Foley was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Eric Holcomb and began his service on October 11, 2022.
Judge Foley earned B.A. degrees in History and Criminal Justice from Indiana University, Bloomington in 1993, and his J.D. degree from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis, in 1997. After law school, Judge Foley returned to his hometown of Martinsville, Indiana, to join his father in the practice of law at Foley, Foley & Peden. Judge Foley’s grandfather, Charles H. Foley, began the law firm in 1930. Judge Foley was engaged in the private practice of law in Martinsville for over 17 years, including 14 years as the county attorney for Morgan County. Judge Foley represented both individual and small... [keep reading]
Biography
Oral argument videos
Written opinions
About Judicial Retention
Learn more about Indiana's Judicial Retention System
Statutes regarding retention of Appellate Judges:
- Supreme Court Justices, see Indiana Code 33-24-2
- Court of Appeals Judges, see Indiana Code 33-25-2
- Tax Court Judges, see Indiana Code 33-26-2
This information is prepared by the Indiana Office of Judicial Administration (IOJA). IOJA does not endorse the results of any surveys on judicial retention or the views expressed on any website outside the Indiana Judicial Branch website.