Spotlight: Awards and Recognitions, Events, Law Library News, and Judicial Appointments

Awards and Recognitions

IBJ Honors Chief Justice Loretta Rush

IBJ Media selected Chief Justice Loretta Rush for inclusion in this year’s Indiana 250 book, an annual publication that recognizes the 250 most influential leaders in the state. Chief Justice Loretta Rush was previously recognized in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each year, Indiana 250 features photos, brief biographies, personal comments, and advice from each honoree. Visit Indiana250.com for more information.

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Judicial officers and government and media leaders recognized at annual educational conference

Many judges, magistrates, commissioners, and referees were recognized by Chief Justice Loretta Rush for their commitment to higher education and their long-time service. Forty judicial officers received an Indiana Judicial College certificate, 29 were recognized for participating in the two-year/two-week Indiana Graduate Program for Judges, and 2 were honored for years of service on the bench. The accolades were presented at an annual judicial conference.

24 Years of Service

This award is presented to judicial officers with 24 years of service on the bench. Trial judges are commonly elected to a six-year term; therefore, a judge receiving this certificate has likely been elected more than four times.

• Magistrate Beth Jansen (Marion County)
• Judge Thomas Stefaniak (Lake County)

Indiana Judicial College

Judicial officers must complete 120 hours of education presented by the Indiana Office of Court Services to receive this certificate. The program enhances legal knowledge and improves personal and professional development.

Indiana Graduate Program for Judges

The Graduate Program is a limited attendance educational experience for appellate and trial level judicial officers that offers an in-depth and intensive learning experience and requires attendees to commit to one week of course work for two consecutive summers.

IJA Awards

At the same conference, the Indiana Judges Association also presented several awards. Executive, legislative, judicial, and media awards were presented to honor leaders in their respective fields. The IJA thanked the recipients for their efforts to work in collaboration with the courts as champions of justice.

• David Bottorff, Association of Indiana Cities and Towns
• Stephen Luce, Indiana Sheriff’s Association
• Representative Jennifer Meltzer
• Senator Cyndi Carrasco
• Senator Shelli Yoder

On behalf of the IJA, the Judicial Conference Community Relations Committee presented outreach awards to the following judge and journalist for their efforts at communicating the work of the courts.

• Judge David McCord (Henry County)
• Mike Emery (Western Wayne News)

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Judges and OJA Honored at ISBA Annual Meeting

Outgoing Indiana State Bar Association President Mike Jasaitis honored Judge Nancy Vaidik, Judge Julie Cantrell, Senior Judge Thomas Felts, Chief Administrative Officer Justin Forkner, and Executive Director of the Office of Court Services Catheryne Pully at the organization’s annual meeting in October. Each year, the ISBA awards the Presidential Citation to individuals for exceptional contributions to the profession and the citizens of Indiana through exemplary performances within the ISBA.

Jasaitis recognized that Judge Cantrell “received the Presidential Citation in recognition of her exceptional leadership, dedication to those who served our country, and her role in making Indiana a national leader in veterans treatment courts.” Jasaitis stated that “Judge Cantrell is not just changing individual lives; she’s illustrating to our nation how to serve those who served us.”

In honoring Justin Forkner, Judge Nancy Vaidik, Catheryne Pully, and Senior Judge Tom Felts, Jasaitis lauded that “the convergence of the Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future and ISBA’s Attorney Shortage Plan task forces represents a historic moment for Indiana’s legal profession and these leaders received a Presidential Citation in recognition of their representation of key stakeholders across the state, their months of work identifying statewide and national trends in legal focus areas, and their examination of potential solutions to address Indiana’s attorney shortage. This is what visionary, collaborative leadership looks like.”

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National Leadership Role for Brittany Kelly

In June, the National Center for State Courts convened currently serving State Court Behavioral Health Administrators to a gathering in Chicago to collaborate, share their experiences, and formalize an organizational structure. At this gathering, Indiana’s Office of Behavioral Health Administrator Brittany Kelly was elected vice chair of the newly-formed National Council of State Court Behavioral Health Administrators.

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Events

Justice Slaughter and Court of Appeals Judges Participate in International Civic Education Program

On July 2, forty-five European high school students met with ten of their American peers as part of their participation in the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship Program. Established by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2006, the month-long program helps to increase the exchange of information between Americans and representatives from other countries around the globe. After meetings with civic leaders and enjoying cultural highlights in select other American cities, the international students were welcomed to the Purdue University campus for a full day of interaction with members of the Indiana appellate courts.

The Indiana Bar Foundation hosted this day of judicial branch education, which offered facilitated conversation on selected legal topics and individualized mentorship from sitting judges of the Indiana appellate courts. The day culminated in a simulated congressional hearing judged by Justice Geoffrey Slaughter and Judges Tavitas, Kenworthy, Felix, Scheele, and Chief Judge Altice of the Court of Appeals. The judicial delegation learned about the students’ viewpoints and cultural perspectives and was struck by the immense leadership potential of the students who took part.

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Law Library News

Law Library Celebrates 50 Years as a Federal Depository Library

The Indiana Supreme Court Law Library celebrated the 50th anniversary of its participation in the Federal Depository Library Program on September 29, 2025. The FDLP is a government program created to make U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. When the library became a selective depository in 1975, this meant that physical copies of federal resources were shipped from the Government Publishing Office to the library weekly, monthly, or annually, depending on the publication frequency of each resource. Now, the library collects selected resources such as Federal Trade Commission Decisions, Office of Special Counsel updates, and United States Attorneys Annual Statistical Reports digitally. Links to these resources are compiled and searchable in the library catalog, and their contents are fully accessible to the public.

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Handwritten License to Practice Law Donated

The Indiana Supreme Court Law Library was recently gifted an original handwritten license to practice law, written and signed by William W. Wick on October 27, 1823. Wick began practicing law in Connersville, Indiana, before serving as a clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1820 and assistant clerk for the Indiana Senate in 1821. At the time the document was written, Wick had been appointed as Presiding Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Later, he would go on to serve as Indiana’s Secretary of State and a U.S. Representative for Indiana. In the document, Wick and Miles C. Eggleston—Presiding Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit—granted a license to practice law to Isaiah H. Marshall. Marshall was later also admitted to the bar in Illinois.

The donor, western Colorado attorney Barbara R. Butler, received the document as a graduation gift from a friend who knew she was headed to law school. It hung in Butler’s office as the Editor-in-Chief of the Arizona Law Review, and then in her law office for over 20 years. The library is grateful for her generous donation!

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Judicial Appointments

Allen County

Governor Mike Braun appointed Magistrate Brent Ecenbarger to Allen Superior Court 7, filling the vacancy left by Judge Andrea R. Trevino who stepped down from the bench effective September 23. Ecenbarger served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Noble County from 2010 to 2014, before filling the same role in Allen County from 2014 to 2020. Next, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney before being sworn in as an Allen County Circuit Court Magistrate in September 2023. Ecenbarger earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and his Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University.

Noble County

Christopher Jansen was announced as Governor Braun’s appointment to the Noble Circuit Court. Jansen has been a solo practitioner in Kendallville since the beginning of his career, while also serving as a public defender on a part-time basis. Jansen earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and graduated cum laude with his Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Morgan County

Elizabeth Grace Terrell was appointed by Governor Braun to the Martinsville City Court. Terrell has practiced law out of Martinsville from the beginning of her career and started a solo practice, Terrell Group LLC. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Anderson University and a Juris Doctor from IU McKinney School of Law.