Application & Instructions

The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission is accepting applications for Judge Patricia Riley's vacancy on the Court of Appeals.

Application materials must be provided in hard copy and submitted electronically through the Indiana Courts Portal. Please sign into the portal in advance of submitting your application in case you need assistance with your login or password. Do not wait until the final submission day to sign into the portal. If you are not sure how to sign in, see the help topic on signing in or creating an account.

After the application deadline passes, the Commission will announce the names of all candidates for the vacancy. Once the Commission has evaluated each application and determined whether to interview all or some of the applicants, the applications of the candidates to be interviewed become public records and may be posted on the Indiana Supreme Court’s website. See Ind. Code § 33-27-3-2(d).

Please direct any questions about the application process to Larry Newman, staff attorney to the Commission, by email at Larry.Newman@courts.in.gov.

Eligibility

Each of the Fourth and Fifth Districts of the the Court of Appeals of Indiana are made up of three judges, one from each of the first three appellate districts. To be eligible for nomination by the Governor to fill this vacancy on the Court of Appeals, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen, domiciled in the Third District (Allen, Benton, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Jasper, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Noble, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, Steuben, Warren, and Whitley counties), and have been either a member of the Indiana Bar for at least ten years or a judge of an Indiana Circuit, Superior, or Criminal Court for at least five years. Ind. Const., art. 7 § 10.

Note that appellate judges and justices must retire at 75 years of age. Indiana Code § 33-38-13-8 provides that “[e]very justice of the supreme court and judge of the court of appeals shall retire at seventy-five (75) years of age.”

Application Checklist

To apply, prepare the following application materials, which you will need to provide both in hard copy and electronically (see instructions below):

1. Application Part One | Download MS Word
2. Application Part Two | Download MS Word
3. Statement of Economic Interests | Download PDF
4. Waiver and Statement of Consent | Download PDF
5. Photograph
6. Supplemental Materials
7. State Police Release Form (hard copy only, see below)

Required Supplemental Materials include:

• Military service documentation (if applicable)
• Writing samples
• Physician statement
• Educational transcripts

Note about transcripts: Certified versions are required for the original hard copy only; see hard copy instructions below. Certified versions are NOT required for the electronic copy, but if the certified copy provided by your school is a secure, electronic document, you may upload that as a separate file with your electronic application; see supplemental materials below.

Letters of Recommendation

The Nominating Commission will consider on behalf of each applicant a reasonable number of letters of recommendation. Judicial officers are permitted under the Code of Judicial Conduct to write on behalf of candidates on the basis of personal knowledge of the candidates’ qualifications.

• Letters must be emailed to jncvacancy@courts.in.gov
• Letters will be shared with all members of the Commission, including those sent to individual Commission members
• Letters about an applicant will also be shared with the applicant prior to the final interview

Instructions for Electronic Application

The electronic copy of your application must be submitted through the Indiana Courts Portal by the deadline above. All application materials uploaded to the Portal must be saved in PDF format, except the photograph, which must be in JPG format.

Sign into the Indiana Courts Portal. Then, location the section labeled "My Tools & Settings" and click "Upload a document," which takes you to the Secure Document Uploader. Files must not exceed 15mb in size. You can check the size of any file by inspecting the document properties. Note, as indicated below, that document types are named to correspond with the vacancy for which you are applying. You must upload the following:

1 - Application Part One

• Once completed, save as a PDF and ensure that it passes an accessibility check. Do not print and scan this document.
• From the Secure Document Uploader, select the document type "Appeals JNC Riley 2024 - Application Part 1"

2 - Application Part Two

• Once completed, save as a PDF. Do not print and scan this document.
• From the Secure Document Uploader, select the document type "Appeals JNC Riley 2024 - Application Part 2"

3 - Statement of Economic Interests

• The Statement of Economic Interests may require additional pages. Combine the completed form and additional pages into a single PDF file, and make sure to save the file correctly as described in this tutorial.
• From the Secure Document Uploader, select the document type "Appeals JNC Riley 2024 - SEI"

4 – Waiver and Statement of Consent

• The Waiver and Statement of Consent requires a signature. Print, sign, and scan this file as a PDF.
• From the Secure Document Uploader, select the document type "Appeals JNC Riley 2024 - Waiver"

5 - Supplemental materials

• Ideally, you should combine all supplemental materials into a single PDF document, but if the file exceeds 15mb, you will have to upload multiple PDF documents. Also, if your certified educational transcripts are electronic, you should upload them as separate documents. Scanned files tend to be larger, so avoid those if possible.
• Be sure to include:
  • If applicable, military documentation identified in Part One: Question 2B.
  • Educational transcripts identified in Part One: Questions 2A and 3A.
  • Writing samples identified in Part One: Question 6.
  • Physician statement identified in Part Two: Question 3.
• From the Secure Document Uploader, select the document type "Appeals JNC Riley 2024 - Attachment"

6 - Current Photograph

• Provide a recently taken professional headshot with a resolution of at least 300dpi, at 5 x 7 inches, saved in JPG format.
• From the Secure Document Uploader, select the document type "Appeals JNC Riley 2024 - Photo"

Additional instructions for preparing and uploading documents may be found at the Portal help website.

Instructions for Hard Copy Applications

Five hard copies of your application must be received no later than the deadline above by the Commission’s Office at 251 N. Illinois Street, Suite 1600, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. Please retain proof of delivery and a complete application for your records.

The five hard-copy applications—the original and four copies—must be provided in a three-ring binder (coil, comb, book, strip, or other binding is not allowed) and must include the same materials as provided in the electronic submission.

In addition, the original hard copy should include:

• Certified transcripts from each school named in Questions 2A and 3A from Application Part One. If your social security number is on your transcripts, you must redact it before copying.
  • Note: If your school provides only electronic certified transcripts, you may upload the certified transcript as part of your electronic application and instead print a copy for the original.
• An Indiana State Police release form on green paper. The release form requires the applicant’s social security number and that will remain confidential. Contact the Nominating Commission Office at Larry.Newman@courts.in.gov well in advance of the deadline to request a copy of the form.

The four copies of the original application should include copies of the transcripts but not the release form.

Interviews

The Nominating Commission is expected to conduct public interviews in Indianapolis on June 24-25 and July 22-23. The Commission may conduct two rounds of public interviews. Upon the conclusion of interviews, the Nominating Commission will deliberate in executive session, then vote in a public session to nominate to the Governor the three most highly qualified candidates. Ind. Code § 33-27-3-2. Candidates must be available on the interview dates, including evening hours.