Supreme Court of Indiana - History

History

The Indiana Supreme Court was established in 1816 when Indiana was granted statehood. The new Court replaced the General Court of the Indiana Territory, which consisted of a three-member panel. Housed in a three-room building it shared with the Indiana legislature, the Court held its first session in Corydon on May 5, 1817. Under the state constitution of 1816, the governor appointed justices with the state senate's "advice and consent" for a term of seven years.

In December 1816 Jonathan Jennings, Indiana's first governor, nominated John Johnson of Vincennes Knox County; James Scott of Charlestown Clark County; and Jesse Holman of Aurora Dearborn County, to serve as the first panel of judges on the Indiana Supreme Court. Johnson became the Court's first chief justice. When Johnson died in 1817, Jennings named Isaac Blackford to replace him. Blackford became the second chief justice of the Court and was the longest serving justice in the Court's history, serving 36 years, 3 months, and 24 days. Blackford recorded all of the Court's early decisions in a multivolume work titled Blackford's Reports that served for many years as a foundational text on the interpretation of state laws.

In 1824 the Supreme Court relocated to Indianapolis with the rest of the state's government. Initially the Court shared space on the second floor of the Marion County Courthouse, before moving to the third Indiana Statehouse. In 1865 the Court was given its own building on lot number one in Indianapolis, where it remained until 1888, moving to its present location in the fifth Indiana Statehouse. As of 2012 the Court occupies the entire north wing of the third floor of the Indiana Statehouse.

In 1851 the Supreme Court was reorganized under the new state constitution. The position of justice was changed from an appointed position to an elected one. Judicial terms were changed to six years and the Court's size was set to a minimum of three members and not more than five. The Court's judges quickly became overwhelmed by an ever-increasing caseload. In 1853 the minimum was increased to four members and in 1872 it was increased to five. The Court has remained at a minimum of five justices since that time. In 1867 the general assembly transferred all the law books in the Indiana State Library to the Court to create a Supreme Court Law Library. The library grew to become the primary legal library for the state and includes more than seventy-thousand volumes.

The Court's caseload continued to grow over time. In 1881 the general assembly approved the creation of a five-member panel of commissioners to assist the justices in administrative tasks. Even this was not enough to handle the load. In 1891 the Appellate Court of Indiana was created to handle cases of lower importance. At first the appellate court only took a small portion of the Supreme Court's caseload, but its responsibility gradually increased.

In 1970 state constitutional amendments reorganized the Court. The constitution renamed the Appellate Court the Indiana Court of Appeals. With the formation of the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court could choose which cases it would hear and which cases it would leave to the lower courts. Constitutional amendments also lengthened judicial terms to ten years and changed the limits on the size of the Court to a minimum of five members and a maximum of nine. The method of selecting justices was changed from statewide election to appointment by the governor. The amendment also provided for a Judicial Nominating Commission to choose candidates. Justices also became subject to a retention election. In addition, the office of chief justice became permanent. Previously the title rotated among the justices. In 2004 the Indiana General Assembly created the Supreme Court Division of Administration, legalizing and expanding the role of the clerks of the Court.