Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard has been selected by the American Judicature Society (AJS) as the recipient of the Sixth Annual Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence. The American Judicature Society (AJS), which was founded in 1913 to educate the public and build confidence in the justice system, created the Opperman Award to honor state trial and appellate judges for distinguished judicial service. The award will be presented in early 2010. For more information on AJS, visit their website at www.ajs.org.
Indiana was touted as a leader in jury practices by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) as a recipient of a 2009 G. Thomas Munsterman Award for Jury Innovations. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard accepted the award on behalf of the Court emphasizing it is shared with Governor Mitch Daniels’ Administration because their collaboration made the project a reality.
“Indiana is using 21st century technology to ensure that our juries represent the people of our state,” explained Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard. “With Governor Daniels’ partnership we created an accurate statewide jury list that ensures a broader and more reflective pool of applicants will be eligible to serve on an Indiana jury.” The NCSC presented the award to the Indiana Supreme Court’s Judicial Technology and Automation Committee for the Jury Management System (JMS) which includes a master jury pool list.