Indiana

Will voters oust Indiana Supreme Court justices over abortion decision on Election Day?

Published

2 months ago

October 21, 2024

Will voters oust Indiana Supreme Court justices over abortion decision on Election Day?

Voters in Indiana don’t get a direct say in who gets to serve on the Indiana Supreme Court, but they do get to weigh in this fall on whether some of those justices get to stay in their roles.

Three of five Indiana Supreme Court justices will be up for retention vote on Nov. 5. Voters will be asked whether Chief Justice Loretta Rush, Justice Mark Massa and Justice Derek Molter, all appointed under Republican governors, should serve additional terms.

While judge retention elections are typically sleepy affairs in Indiana, that isn’t true this year. The retention question has attracted more attention due to past court decisions: namely, upholding Indiana’s abortion ban.

The Indiana Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s near-total abortion ban in 2023 in a 4-1 decision. Molter wrote the opinion, to which Rush and Massa agreed, that the state has an interest in “protecting prenatal life” and that the Indiana General Assembly “retains broad legislative discretion for determining whether and the extent to which to prohibit abortions.”

That has led to a campaign against them from abortion-rights voters who want to make their displeasure heard over the court’s decision.

“Justices Rush, Massa, and Molter are responsible in part for Indiana’s abortion ban,” according to a Facebook post from MADVoters Indiana, an advocacy group that has been supporting Indiana’s Democratic candidates. “We can hold them accountable for their decision at the ballot box.”

Meanwhile, a group called the Committee to Preserve the Indiana Supreme Court recently launched to defend the records of Rush, Massa and Molter.

“The court’s body of work shows a dedication to the constitution and interpreting the law as written,” according to the group’s Facebook page. “You won’t find judicial activists on the Indiana Supreme Court. Because here, they interpret the law — they don’t write it.”

Who are the justices?

All of the justices on the Indiana Supreme Court were appointed by Republican governors after a merit selection process by a judicial commission. The three up for retention vote this fall are:

Chief Justice Loretta Rush: appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2012 and first retained by voters in 2014. She was named the state’s first woman chief justice in 2014. She was a longtime attorney in the Lafayette area and served as a superior court judge in Tippecanoe County. She has worked at the national level to address issues including courts’ responses to the mental health crisis through the Conference of Chief Justices and served as chair of the National Judicial Opioid Task Force.
Justice Mark Massa: appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2012 and first retained by voters in 2014. Massa started his career as a journalist in Indiana and then entered politics, serving under former Gov. Robert Orr. He then was a deputy prosecutor and an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Indiana. He also was part of the Daniels administration, serving as general counsel.
Derek Molter: appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2022. This is Molter’s first retention vote. He most recently served on the Court of Appeals and is from Newton County. He used to be a partner in Ice Miller law firm’s litigation practice group, where he worked on appeals in state and federal courts.

What is the judicial retention process?

Indiana’s judicial retention process serves as a “check on their performance” at periodic intervals, according to the Indiana Judicial branch website. It was put in place in 1970 after Indiana voters approved a constitutional amendment.

“Judges who are candidates for retention are not permitted to campaign or solicit public support or campaign funds unless there is organized opposition to their retention,” according to the Indiana Judicial Branch website.

If one or more of the judges is not retained, Indiana would use the judicial nomination commission to select a new lawyer, and the Indiana governor would make the appointment from a list of nominees by the commission.

“Once appointed, a justice or judge must stand for a retention election at the first statewide general election after the justice or judge had served for two full years and, if retained, every 10 years thereafter,” according to the Indiana Judicial Branch.

A referendum on abortion?

Some abortion-rights voters appear to be using the retention votes as a way to express displeasure over the state’s near total abortion ban.

The outcome of the retention vote wouldn’t directly impact the state’s ban, however. It could even backfire for abortion-rights voters, wrote Sheila Kennedy, an emerita law and public policy professor at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, since a Republican governor would likely be in charge of the judicial nomination process, barring an upset win by Democratic governor candidate Jennifer McCormick.

“I share the anger of people who oppose Indiana’s ban, but our animus should be directed at the legislature–not at a court that, rightly or wrongly, held that the legislature had authority to act,” Kennedy wrote in a recent blog post.

Outgoing state Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, said in a Facebook post that he believed the justices are “always fair, unbiased and objective” even if he doesn’t agree with them.

“It’s quite possible that one or more of the justices might even have voted against the bill had they been in the legislature,” Torr said. “Their decision was not about whether the law was appropriate, but simply whether or not it was constitutional.”

What do Indiana lawyers think?

Hundreds of members of the Indiana State Bar Association expressed support for retaining all three judges in its latest retention poll, released Oct. 8.

Rush had the strongest support among those polled, with 88% of the 397 respondents voting saying she should be retained. Massa and Molter each had support of 84% of those polled.

“Lawyers are uniquely qualified to evaluate members of the judiciary, as it’s important to evaluate a judicial officer on their track record rather than a single ruling,” according to a press release from the bar association.

The poll, however, represents a small slice of lawyers in Indiana. There were 6,901 attorneys who were invited to take the poll and the organization has about 10,000 members.

Hayleigh Colombo is the senior government accountability reporter from IndyStar. She can be reached at hcolombo@indystar.com.

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Indiana

Report: Quarterback Tayven Jackson Enters Transfer Portal

Published

2 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Report: Quarterback Tayven Jackson Enters Transfer Portal

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When Tayven Jackson announced his intention to transfer to Indiana from Tennessee before the 2023 season, it caused a ripple of excitement.

In the end, it didn’t work out for Jackson at Indiana. After two years with the Hoosiers, Jackson is expected to move on.

On3.com’s Pete Nakos posted on X on Saturday that Jackson entered the transfer portal.

Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson has entered the transfer portal, @On3sports has learned.
Former Tennessee transfer and top-200 recruit.https://t.co/wMrfFrdlE6 pic.twitter.com/wVMmesvYfN
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— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 21, 2024

Jackson played in 13 games for the Hoosiers during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He threw for 1,300 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions during his Indiana career.

Jackson compiled the majority of his production during the 2023 season when he started the first six games of the 2023 season. Brendan Sorsby started the games in the second half of the season for the Hoosiers.

Sorsby transferred to Cincinnati after the 2023 season, but Jackson stuck with the Indiana program when 2023 coach Tom Allen was replaced by Curt Cignetti.

Cignetti recruited Kurtis Rourke out of Ohio University from the transfer portal and Jackson never seemed to be seriously considered as the starting quarterback. Jackson did settle in as the No. 2 quarterback ahead of Tyler Cherry and Alberto Mendoza.

Jackson played in four games in a reserve role before he got the chance to start against Washington on Oct. 26 after Rourke injured his thumb. Jackson led Indiana to a 31-17 victory over the Huskies as he completed 11 of 19 passes for 124 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Those proved to be the last passes Jackson threw in an Indiana uniform – though he did appear in two more games and had three rushing attempts in the regular season finale against Purdue.

Rourke is also out of eligibility so Indiana is in the market for a quarterback.

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Indiana

Social media reacts to Indiana, SMU’s decisive losses in College Football Playoff

Published

10 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Social media reacts to Indiana, SMU’s decisive losses in College Football Playoff

From the moment the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was revealed, a debate raged over who was and wasn’t included in the field.

Should SMU, despite a loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game, have earned the final at-large berth over Alabama? Was Indiana, even with a gaudy 11-1 record, worthy of a spot despite what ended up being a softer-than-expected schedule in the Big Ten?

The start of playoff games this week didn’t end those arguments. If anything, it only intensified them.

The Hoosiers and Mustangs both suffered double-digit, largely lopsided road losses in the first round of the playoff. On Friday night, No. 10 seed Indiana fell to No. 7 seed Notre Dame 27-17 in a game it trailed by 24 with two minutes remaining while No. 11 seed SMU was drubbed by No. 6 Penn State 38-10 Saturday afternoon.

People from across the country who follow the sport — broadcasters, writers, analysts and even coaches — reacted to the results, with some using them as a justification for their belief that the playoff selection committee made mistakes on who it allowed in the field. Many of the loudest complaints came from the SEC, which had the second-most teams in the field, with three, but had three three-loss teams — Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — among the first teams left out of the playoff.

Here’s a sampling of the reaction to Indiana and SMU’s CFP losses:

Social media reacts to Indiana, SMU College Football Playoff losses

Indiana and SMU losing their College Football Playoff games by a combined 38 points in dominant fashion raised a variety of opinions, with some believing it to be an indictment of the playoff committee for selecting the Hoosiers and Mustangs for the final two at-large spots.

Others, though, countered with an argument that Indiana and SMU had pieced together playoff-worthy resumes and deserved to make the field, regardless of how they fared in their games this week.

Lane Kiffin trolls CFP committee

The loudest, or at least most prominent, voice piling on Indiana and SMU’s struggles was Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, whose squad was the third team left out of the playoff.

Many, however, rightfully pointed out that Kiffin’s 9-3 Rebels team could have made the playoff had it simply won at home against a 4-8 Kentucky team that managed only one victory in SEC play this season.

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Indiana

Indiana's Curt Cignetti Learned Valuable Lesson in Keeping Your Mouth Shut | Deadspin.com

Published

18 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Indiana's Curt Cignetti Learned Valuable Lesson in Keeping Your Mouth Shut | Deadspin.com

“Don’t write a check with your mouth that your ass can’t cash.”

My mom once told me that growing up. Can’t quite remember why. Somebody should probably tell that to Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, who did a lot of talking all season long just to get demoralized in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Way back when Cignetti got hired in November 2023 after a successful run with James Madison University, he was asked about how he plans on getting recruits to come to an Indiana program that appeared to be rebuilding.

“Google me,” Cignetti said. “I win.”

Cignetti backed that statement up. He landed starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke in December and running backs Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton.

The season could not have started any better for Cignetti’s Hoosiers, as their unbeaten 10-0 record had the attention of the nation before getting curb stomped 38-15 by Ohio State.

Before his first real test against the Buckeyes, Cignetti said, “Ohio State sucks,” at halftime of an Indiana basketball game. Bulletin board material? Sure seemed that was as Ohio State quarterback Will Howard went viral for “putting out the cig” celebration after thrashing the Hoosiers in Columbus.

That should have been Cignetti’s first lesson: to keep his yap shut. He did not learn.

Indiana bounced back from that loss with a 66-0 rout of the Purdue Boilermakers. Despite Purdue’s hapless 1-11 record, that victory put the wind right back in Cignetti’s sails before their College Football Playoff matchup with Notre Dame.

“We don’t just beat top 25 teams, we beat the shit out of them.”

That’s what Cignetti actually said on the set of ESPN’s College Game Day just hours before the Hoosiers kicked off with the Fighting Irish. It’s important to note that despite Cignetti’s impressive 11-1 record in his first year coaching Indiana, literally none of those victories came against Top 25 teams.

To make things even more hilarious, No. 5 Notre Dame completely embarrassed Indiana in a game where the Hoosiers looked like they did not belong on that same stage.

It’s a friendly reminder for the new coach of Indiana to just keep his mouth shut. Every time he opened it this year, he paid the price. It’s part of what made Indiana a story for a little while, but when the lights were the brightest, Cignetti’s team wasn’t as bold as his comments to the media.

That’s never a good thing.

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