Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton gives introductions during the Bartholomew County Veterans Treatment Court graduation ceremony in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 at the Bartholomew County Courthouse in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, May 12, 2022.
INDIANAPOLIS — A Bartholomew County judge is among nine judges and lawyers who have applied for an opening on the Court of Appeals of Indiana. They will be interviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission on July 11.
Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James D. Worton has an interview scheduled for 11:30 a.m. July 11.
The interviews are open to the public and will be held in the Fuse East Conference Room on the second floor of the South Tower at Capital Center (201 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis, IN 46204).
Following the interviews, the commission will meet in executive session and then publicly vote to select the three most qualified candidates. The Commission considers applicants’ legal education, writings, reputation in the practice of law, and other pertinent information. The three nominees will be submitted to Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has 60 days from receiving the list to select Indiana’s next Court of Appeals judge.
The vacancy is the result of the upcoming retirement of Judge Edward W. Najam, Jr. According to the Indiana Constitution and state statute, the seven-member Judicial Nominating Commission must recruit and select candidates to fill vacancies on Indiana appellate courts. With Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush as chair, the Commission includes three lawyers elected by their peers and three citizen-members appointed by the governor.
