A state court of last resort / Established 1816

Supreme Court of Indiana

Indianapolis · A court of last resort in Indiana.

The Supreme Court of Indiana is the highest court in Indiana. Its justices are chosen by gubernatorial appointment from a nominating commission, followed by retention elections. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

107

Justices in history

Currently serving

Merit selection

Selection

10-yr

Term

Current bench verified against the court’s official roster, 2026-07-02.

Current justices

Former justices

Justice	Years
Steven H. David	2010
Robert D. Rucker	1999
Theodore R. Boehm	1996–2010
Myra Consetta Selby	1995–1999
Frank Sullivan Jr.	1993–2012
Jon D. Krahulik	1990–1993
Brent E. Dickson	1986
Randall T. Shepard	1985–2012
Alfred J. Pivarnik	1977–1990
Dixon W. Prentice	1971–1986
Richard M. Givan	1969–1994
Roger O. DeBruler	1968–1996
Donald H. Hunter	1967–1985
David M. Lewis	1967–1969
Donald R. Mote	1967–1968
Frederick Eugene Rakestraw	1966–1967
Walter Myers Jr.	1963–1967
Amos W. Jackson	1959–1971
Harold E. Achor	1955–1966
Norman F. Arterburn	1955–1977
George Washington Henley	1955–1955
Frederick Landis	1955–1965
Isadore E. Levine	1955–1955
Dan C. Flanagan	1953–1954
Arch N. Bobbitt	1951–1963
Floyd Stanley Draper	1951–1955
Paul G. Jasper	1949–1953
James A. Emmert	1947–1959
Frank E. Gilkison	1945–1955
Oliver Starr	1945–1951
Howard S. Young Sr.	1945–1951
Martin J. O'Malley	1943–1949
Frank N. Richman	1941–1947
Hardses Nathan Swaim	1939–1945
Curtis Grover Shake	1938–1945
George Lee Tremain	1934–1941
Michael Louis Fansler	1933–1945
James Hughes	1933–1939
Curtis William Roll	1931–1943
Walter Emanuel Treanor	1931–1938
Andrew Davison	1930–1945
Clarence B. Martin	1927–1933
Willard B. Gemmill	1925–1931
Fred C. Gause	1923–1925
Julius C. Travis	1921–1933
Louis B. Ewbank	1920–1927
Benjamin M. Willoughby	1919–1931
Lawson M. Harvey	1917–1920
Howard L. Townsend	1917–1923
Moses B. Lairy	1915–1921
Richard K. Erwin	1913–1917
John W. Spencer	1912–1919
Charles E. Cox	1911–1917
Douglas J. Morris	1911–1917
Oscar H. Montgomery	1905–1911
John H. Gillett	1902–1909
Francis Elisha Baker	1899–1902
Alexander Dowling	1899–1905
John V. Hadley	1899–1911
James H. Jordan	1895–1912
Leander J. Monks	1895–1913
Joseph S. Dailey	1893–1895
Leonard J. Hackney	1893–1899
Timothy Howard	1893–1899
James McCabe	1893–1899
John D. Miller	1891–1893
Robert W. McBride	1890–1893
John G. Berkshire	1889–1891
Silas D. Coffey	1889–1895
Walter Olds	1889–1893
Joseph A.S. Mitchell	1885–1890
Edwin P. Hammond	1883–1885
Allen Zollars	1883–1889
William H. Coombs	1882–1883
Byron K. Elliott	1881–1883
William A. Woods	1881–1883
John T. Scott	1879–1881
William E. Niblack	1877–1889
Horace P. Biddle	1875–1881
Samuel H. Buskirk	1871–1877
Alexander C. Downey	1871–1877
Andrew L. Osborn	1871–1875
John Pettit	1870–1877
Jehu T. Elliott	1865–1871
James S. Frazer	1865–1871
Robert C. Gregory	1865–1871
Charles A. Ray	1865–1871
Lorenzo Worden	1858–1882
James M. Hanna	1857–1865
Samuel B. Gookins	1855–1857
Alvin P. Hovey	1854–1855
Addison L. Roache	1853–1858
William Z. Stuart	1853–1858
Thomas L. Smith	1847–1853
Samuel E. Perkins	1846–1879
Charles Dewey	1836–1847
John T. McKinney	1831–1837
Stephen C. Stevens	1831–1837
Isaac Newton Blackford	1817–1853
Jesse L. Holman	1816–1830
John Johnson	1816–1817
James Scott	1816–1830

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the Supreme Court of Indiana are appointed by the governor to 10-year terms and then face yes-or-no retention elections. A Judicial Nominating Commission sends nominees to the governor, who appoints; the justice then faces retention votes for 10-year terms. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: Current roster: Indiana Judicial Branch — Supreme Court Justice Biographies (in.gov/courts) and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data); selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data as of 2026-07-02 (official roster); historical bench 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).