Ind. Sup. Ct. Order Approving Local Rules: order-local-rules-2025-25S-MS-322

In the

Indiana Supreme Court

In the Matter of the Approval of Local

Rules for Clay County

Supreme Court Case No.

25S-MS-322

Order Approving Amended Local Rules

The Judges of the Clay Circuit and Superior Courts request the approval of amended local

rules for caseload allocation in accordance with Administrative Rule 1(E) and for special judge

assignments in accordance with Trial Rule 79 and Administrative Rule 21. Attached to this

Order are the proposed amended local rules.

Upon examination of the proposed rule amendments requested by the Clay Circuit and

Superior Courts, this Court finds that the proposed amendments to LR11-AR01-2 comply with

the requirements of Administrative Rule 1(E), the amendments to LR11-TR79-01 comply with

Trial Rule 79, and the amendments to LR11-CR2.4-2 comply with Administrative Rule 21, and,

accordingly, should be approved.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED by this Court that amended Local Rules, LR11-AR01-

2, LR11-TR79-01, and LR11-CR2.4-2 for the Clay Circuit and Superior Courts, set forth as

attachments to this Order, are approved effective January 1, 2026.

Done at Indianapolis, Indiana, on ___________ .

Loretta H. Rush

Chief Justice of Indiana

11/26/2025

LR11-CR2.4-2 CRIMINAL CASE ASSIGNMENT/CR 2.4, AR 1(E), AND AR

21.

A. All criminal cases shall be assigned and allocated to the Clay Circuit and Superior

courts in accordance with LR11-AR01-2.

B. A judge of the Circuit or Superior courts, by appropriate order entered in the

record of judgments and orders may transfer and reassign a case to any other court

of record in the county with jurisdiction to hear the charged offense subject to

acceptance by the receiving court.

C. When the State of Indiana dismisses a case and chooses to re-file that case, the

case shall be assigned to the court from which the dismissal was taken.

D. In the event additional charges are filed against a criminal defendant

subsequent to the assignment of the case, all such additional charges shall be

assigned to the court of initial assignment.

E. Once a criminal case is assigned, if it must be reassigned due to a conflict

arising from the sitting judge's previous service as the Prosecuting Attorney in

Clay County, the Clerk shall reassign the case to a Senior Judge. If in these

cases a Senior Judge is unable to serve, and in all other cases, it may be reassigned under Administrative Rule 21 equally and randomly as follows:

1. Any judge or magistrate of the Vigo circuit and superior courts;

2. Any judge or magistrate of the Putnam circuit and superior courts;

3. Any judge of the Owen circuit and superior courts;

4. The judge of the Parke Circuit Court;

5. Any judge or magistrate of the Greene superior and circuit courts;

6. Any judge or magistrate of the Sullivan circuit and superior courts

F. In the event the judge presiding in a felony or misdemeanor case concludes that

special circumstances presented in such proceeding require appointment by the

Indiana Supreme Court of a Special Judge, the presiding judge may request the

Indiana Supreme Court make such appointment.

LR11-AR01-2 CASELOAD ALLOCATION

A. Criminal cases shall be filed pursuant to LR11-CR2.4-2 and as follows:

1. Murder and A, B, and C, and Level 1, 2, 3, and Level 4

felony cases: The Clerk shall equally assign and allocate

between the Clay Circuit Court and the Clay Superior Court

criminal cases identified as murder (MR); and all felonies

filed as A(FA), B(FB) and C(FC), as well as designations

for Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 Felonies; except that no Felony cases

involving Operating under the influence of alcohol and/or

drugs and driving above the legal limit shall be filed in the

Clay Circuit Court.

2. D felony cases and Level 5 and 6 Felony offenses: The

Clerk shall equally assign and allocate between the Clay

Circuit Court and the Clay Superior Court all criminal cases

identified as D Felonies (FD) as well as Level 5 and Level 6

felony offenses; except that no Felony cases involving

Operating under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and

driving above the legal limit shall be filed in the Clay Circuit

Court.

3. Post-Conviction Relief Cases: The Clerk shall assign and

allocate any post-conviction relief cases to the original court

of criminal jurisdiction for which the post-conviction relief

is based; however, the Clerk shall assign a civil cause

number to the Post-Conviction Relief cases.

4. A, B, and C Misdemeanor cases: All misdemeanor cases

shall be assigned to the Clay Superior Court if the highest-

level charge filed is a misdemeanor.

5. Miscellaneous Criminal Cases: The Clerk shall equally

assign and allocate between the Clay Circuit Court and Clay

Superior Court all criminal cases identified as miscellaneous

criminal (MC), and criminal red flag (RF).

B. Traffic and Ordinance Violation cases: The Clerk shall assign

all cases designated traffic (IF) and ordinance violation (OV) to

the Clay Superior Court.

C. Juvenile Cases: The Clerk shall assign all cases designated

juvenile cases identified as JC, JD, JM, JS, JP, and JT to the

Clay Circuit Court.

D. Estate/Guardianship/Trusts/Adoption: The Clerk shall assign

all cases designated as estate (ES, EU, and EM), guardianship

(GU), trusts (TR), and adoption (AD and AH) to the Clay

Circuit Court.

E. Other Civil cases shall be filed as follows:

1. The Clerk shall equally assign and allocate between the Clay

Circuit Court and the Clay Superior Court other civil cases

identified as mortgage foreclosure (MF), eviction (EV), civil

collection (CC), dissolution of marriage/separation (DR),

grandparent visitation (GV), miscellaneous civil (MI), court

business (CB), mental health (MH); civil red flag (RF), and

judicial review of administrative agency decisions (RA).

2. The Clerk shall assign all plenary (PL) and commercial court

eligible (CE) cases to the Clay Superior Court arising out of

counterclaims initially filed in the small claims division of

the Clay Superior Court.

3. The Clerk shall assign and allocate civil cases identified as

civil tort (CT) as follows:

A. Two-thirds to Clay Circuit Court;

B. One third to the Clay Superior Court

4. The Clerk shall assign all cases identified as reciprocal

support (RS) to the Clay Circuit Court.

5. The Clerk shall assign all cases identified as small claims

(SC), including small claims eviction cases (EV), to the

Clay Superior Court.

6. All adult protective orders (PO) shall be assigned to the

Clay Superior Court.

7. This rule does not preclude the following findings in the

Clay Circuit Court. Petitions for protective orders (PO)

cause numbers when litigation between the same parties is

pending in the Clay Circuit Court. All Felonies (MR, F1,

F2, F3, F4, and F5) cause numbers when the same

Defendant has a more serious criminal charge pending in

either the Clay Circuit Court or Clay Superior Court than in

that event a new charge shall be filed in the Court with

pending more serious charges.

8. As in the past, the Clay County Judges shall continue to

cooperate with one another to insure the effective and

efficient administration of justice by assisting one another

with hearings, should they be available to do so.

LR11-TR79-01 SELECTION OF A SPECIAL JUDGE PURSUANT TO TR 79(H)

A. The Presiding Judge in Administrative District 19 shall administer reassignment of

cases pursuant to T.R. 79(H). The Presiding Judge shall be selected from the sitting

Judges and Magistrates in District 19. The initial Presiding Judge's term shall

commence April 1, 2013, and terminate December 31, 2013. All subsequent terms

shall be for a calendar year. Should the Presiding Judge leave the bench during the

term, a successor Judge shall be selected to fulfill the balance of that term as well as

the entirety of the next term. A Judge may not refuse to serve as Presiding Judge.

B. During his or her term of service, the Presiding Judge shall maintain a record of the

cause number of each case certified for reassignment and appointment of a special

judge, the Judge who certified the case, and the Judge to whom the case was

reassigned. The Presiding Judge shall submit a written semi-annual report to all

District 19 Judges and Magistrates no more than ten (10) days following the end of the

first and third quarters of each calendar year. The Presiding Judge may assign

administrative duties to local court support staff to assist in fulfilling these

responsibilities. The Presiding Judge shall transfer the records maintained during his

or her term of service to the succeeding Presiding Judge.

C. Pursuant to Trial Rule 79(H), the District Judges and Magistrates shall certify to the

Presiding Judge cases for reassignment and special judge appointment. The

certification shall include a prepared order of appointment, as exhibited in Appendix

A. When the Presiding Judge receives a certification requiring reassignment, the

Presiding Judge shall appoint a full-time judicial officer in the following manner:

1. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Presiding Judge shall create a list of

all full-time judicial officers in District 19. The District will follow the principle

that each full-time judicial officer will receive a new case for each case from

which he or she has been removed- a one­ off, one-on formula. Upon receiving a

certification, the Presiding Judge shall assign the case to the first eligible full-time

judicial officer on the list.

The order of appointment shall be filed in the court where the case originated. The

order of appointment shall constitute acceptance, and neither oath nor additional

evidence of acceptance is required.

D. A Senior Judge may elect to participate in District 19 special judge selection by

submitting a written petition to the Presiding Judge no later than January 15 of any

calendar year indicating that the Senior Judge wishes to participate during the year.

E. When a full-time judicial officer vacates the bench and is certified as a Senior Judge

that judicial officer shall retain jurisdiction of all previously existing Special Judge

Cases as provided by Administrative Rule 5. In the event the full-time judicial

officer vacates the bench and is not certified as a Senior Judge or is unavailable as

indicated under Trial Rule 79(L), then the successor full-time judicial officer shall

assume jurisdiction over all previous Special Judge Cases of the vacating judicial

officer. The county's judicial personnel shall first attempt to absorb conflicts of

interest of the Successor Judge within the county without undue hardship.

F. If no full-time judicial officer is eligible to serve as a Special Judge, or if the

Presiding Judge determines the selection of a Special Judge by the Indiana Supreme

Court is warranted under the particular circumstances of a case, the Presiding Judge

shall certify the case to the Indiana Supreme Court for appointment of a Special

Judge.