Governor Kernan yesterday announced that he is appointing David Lewis of Indianapolis to fill the office of Clerk of Courts. View the press release here. The Courier Journal has coverage here.
The office became vacant when the elected Clerk, Brian Bishop, resigned the position this June, seven months after his reelection to a second term. Additional Star coverage (an editorial) is here.
Bishop was elected to a second four-year term in November of 2002. As stated at IC 33-15-1-1: "A clerk of the supreme court shall be elected under IC 3-10-2-7 by the voters of the state. The term of office of the clerk is four (4) years, beginning January 1 following the individual's election."
IC 3-10-2-7 provides that the secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and clerk of the supreme court "shall be elected in 2002 and every four years thereafter." IC 3-10-2-6 provides that the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction "shall be elected in 2002 and every four years thereafter." Thus half the state-wide offices are up for election every two years.
It is not clear from the press release whether the Governor's appointment is intended to fill the unexpired term of the office of clerk of the courts (which would run until 2006), or until a successor shall have been elected and qualified (which could mean 2004, the next general election). The Constitution provides, at Art. 5, Sec. 11:
Section 18. When, during a recess of the General Assembly, a vacancy shall happen in any office, the appointment to which is vested in the General Assembly; or when, at any time, a vacancy shall have occurred in any other State office, or in the office of Judge of any Court; the Governor shall fill such vacancy, by appointment, which shall expire, when a successor shall have been elected and qualified.The answer to this may be obvious -- I hope someone will let me know and I will post it here.
Earlier Indiana Law Blog coverage of the proposal to change the clerk of the courts to a court-appointed position may be found here.
Posted by Marcia Oddi at November 14, 2003 08:23 AM