Judicial Appointments
Howard County
Governor Holcomb has announced Rebecca R. Vent as his appointment to Howard County Superior Court 2. Vent currently works in private practice in Kokomo and will succeed Judge Brant J. Parry after he steps down at the end of 2023. Since 2008, Vent has served as an attorney for the Kokomo School Corporation. Beginning in 2012, she worked as a part-time public defender for Children in Need of Services (CHINS) cases. Previously, she served as a part-time deputy prosecutor in Howard County and as a contract attorney for the Department of Child Services. Vent volunteers as a guardian ad litem, advocating for children in CHINS cases. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and a law degree from Ohio Northern University.
Vanderburgh County
Governor Holcomb has appointed Jillian Kratochvil to Vanderburgh County Superior Court 1, filling the vacancy left by the September resignation of Judge Brett J. Niemeier. Kratochvil recently worked as an attorney with Stoll Keeon Ogden PLLC in Evansville. She worked in private practice since 2014, primarily focusing on family law and serving as a family law mediator. Kratochvil assists in public defender cases in Posey County and accepts criminal appointments in the federal court. She is a member of the Vanderburgh County CASA Board, the Reitz Home Museum Board, and the St. Vincent Learning Center. Kratochvil earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a law degree from Valparaiso University School of Law.
Awards & Honors
Chief Justice Rush Recognized with NAWJ Lady Justice Award
The National Association of Woman Judges has selected Chief Justice Rush as the 2023 recipient of the Lady Justice Award. Presented at the discretion of the NAWJ President and Executive Committee, this award honors a NAWJ member who uses their person and position to promote the judicial role in protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law. Award recipients exemplify strong, committed, diverse judicial leadership; demonstrate fairness and equality in the courts; and advance equal access to justice.
Awards Presented at IJA Retreat
The following recognitions were awarded at the September meeting of the Indiana Judges Association:
- ISBA Nanette Raduenz Award – Magistrate Drew Block, Hamilton County
- 24-year Judicial Officer Service awards
- Magistrate Kathleen Belzeski, Lake Superior Court 8
- Judge Linda Brown, Marion Superior Court
- Magistrate Brian Cook, Allen Superior Court
- Judge Jennifer DeGroote, Allen Superior Court
- Justice Christopher Goff, Indiana Supreme Court
- Judge Wayne Trockman, Vanderburgh Superior Court
- Champions of Justice Awards
- Senator Sue Glick
- Representative Sharon Negele
- Jay Chaudhary, Executive Director of Division of Mental Health and Addiction
- Excellence in Public Information and Education Awards
- Judge Kimberly Dowling, Delaware Circuit Court
- Indiana Pro Chapter Society of Professional Journalists
National Bar Association Recognizes Judge Garner
Marion Superior Court Judge Charnette Garner was honored with the Outstanding Public Service Lawyer Award by the Woman Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association. The Outstanding Public Service Lawyer Award is one of the WLD’s annual achievement awards, which recognize Black women lawyers who excel in their practice areas and in the judiciary.
Judge Felts Named ISBA President
Senior Judge Thomas J. Felts was inducted as president of the Indiana State Bar Association on September 29, 2023. Felts previously worked for two Fort Wayne law firms after graduation from the IU Maurer School of Law, and in 1989 he was named magistrate of the Allen Circuit Court, then elected judge of the Allen Circuit Court in 2002. Felts served three terms before beginning his service as a certified senior judge on January 1, 2021. He is the first ISBA president to concurrently serve as a judge and used his acceptance remarks to highlight “a judge’s superpower of convening and collaborating with justice partners to make our system of justice as good as it can be.”
Judge Felts previously served on the ISBA’s Board of Governors, has been a longtime board member and past president of the Indiana Judges Association, and served on both the board of the Indiana Bar Foundation and the Board of the Indiana Judicial Conference. In December 2020, Governor Eric Holcomb presented Judge Felts with a Sagamore of the Wabash Award in recognition of his service to the state of Indiana.
Brad Skolnik Named Bar Admissions Administrator of the Year
The National Conference of Bar Examiners has named ACE Executive Director Brad Skolnik as the Bar Admissions Administrator of the Year. Skolnik received this award in recognition of his exemplary service at the NCBE’s annual meeting, which was held on August 10-12 in Denver, Colorado.
Brad Skolnik was appointed Executive Director of the Board of Law Examiners in July 2011. He became Executive Director of the Office of Admissions and Continuing Education in February 2017, when ACE was formed through the merger of the Board of Law Examiners and the Commission for Continuing Legal Education. He served as the Chair of the Council of Bar Admission Administrators from 2020-2021, and presently serves on the NCBE’s Committee on Character and Fitness Investigations.
Supreme Court Law Library Awarded Preservation Assistance Grant
The Supreme Court Law Library has been awarded a Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. This funding will support a detailed preservation assessment of the library’s rare book collection, protective housing for some of the library’s most important books, and archival-quality supplies. This project is being funded in part by the NEH’s special initiative American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future. The agency describes projects with this distinction as ones “that will help emphasize the role of the humanities in tackling contemporary social challenges.”