Adopted 1965

The League of Women Voters of Indiana supports improvements in the structure and administration of the Indiana judicial system through:

A single statewide court system which includes uniform rules of procedure, fiscal responsibility, assignment of judges, and judicial administration to provide more efficient operation of all Indiana courts and, leading to this goal, interim support of enabling legislation for court reorganization on a county-by-county basis.

Selection of judges by a plan that includes nominations by a commission, appointment by the Governor, and periodic review by the voters, and adequate provisions for discipline and removal of judges.

Specifically the League believes in:

• A unified court system. Such a system should operate with uniform procedures, provide accurate records and statistics, distribute the caseloads equitably, and permit the assignment of judges.

• Fiscal responsibility. The League believes that full state financing of the court system is necessary if Indiana is going to fulfill its constitutional guarantee that "Justice shall be administered freely, and without purchase; completely, and without denial; speedily, without delay" (Article I, Section 12). Implicit in the League's position is the conviction that the courts should be readily available at low cost to any citizen.

• Efficient administration. The League believes that judges should be freed from nonjudicial duties so they can devote more time and deliberation to judicial business, to reducing unnecessary delays, and to relieving the backlog of cases. A trained court administrator could institute modern business techniques, report regularly on the caseload and condition of the court, and handle routine paper work.
  

• Merit selection and tenure. Recognizing that equal justice under the law depends on the existence of a qualified, competent, and independent judiciary, the League believes that all judges should be lawyers and that they should be free from the influence of pressure groups and political demands. The League strongly supports a merit plan of judicial selection and tenure, which utilizes a nominating commission whose function it is to recommend highly qualified candidates for appointment to the bench, appointed by the Governor and periodically reviewed by voters.

• Equally important is an effective legal provision for the discipline and removal of unfit or incapacitated judges. The League advocates a discipline and removal commission, which should be readily available to hear public complaints against a judge and authorized to hold confidential hearings.