April 10, 2017

Panel To Vote On 3 Finalists For Indiana's High Court

Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker speaks to reporters at the Indiana Statehouse on Jan. 19, 2017 after announcing his plan to retire. Rucker, 70, was appointed to the court in 1999 and is the sole remaining Democratic appointee.. - AP Photo/Rick Callahan

Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker speaks to reporters at the Indiana Statehouse on Jan. 19, 2017 after announcing his plan to retire. Rucker, 70, was appointed to the court in 1999 and is the sole remaining Democratic appointee..

AP Photo/Rick Callahan

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A state commission helping select the Indiana Supreme Court's newest justice will vote next week on which three finalists to recommend to Gov. Eric Holcomb.

The Judicial Nominating Commission has already narrowed the 20 candidates who applied to replace retiring Justice Robert Rucker to 11 people.

The panel will re-interview those 11 on April 18-19 and then vote publicly April 19 on which three names to send to Holcomb. He'll have 60 days to make his pick.

Rucker is retiring on May 12 after 26 years on the bench. The 70-year-old is the court's only black justice and its sole remaining Democratic appointee.

His successor's selection will complete the remaking of Indiana's high court, with all five justices appointed since 2010 by Republican governors.

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