Republican CoA jurists now double Democrat-appointed judges
Governor Eric Holcomb (R) appoints Judge Mary A. DeBoer of the Porter County Circuit Court No. 1 to the Indiana Court of Appeals. The Valparaiso resident will succeed retired judge Patricia A. Riley. The replacement of Riley means that no members of the appellate court appointed by former Gov. Evan Bayh (D) – who himself left office in January 1997 – remain on the bench.
Governor Holcomb now enjoys the distinction of having appointed six sitting members of the Court of Appeals . . . and will appoint one more member to the intermediate appellate bench this Fall as well. He has also appointed two of the five members of the Indiana Supreme Court (one of whom he had previously appointed to the Court of Appeals).
Judge DeBoer assumed office on December 31, 2019 – also appointed by Gov. Holcomb. She studied criminal justice and political science at Western Michigan University and graduated from Valparaiso University Law School in 1993.
As an attorney, she primarily practiced as a deputy prosecutor for 13 years in Porter County and Starke County, where she handled cases ranging from infractions up to serious felonies and murders. Immediately before being appointed to the circuit court, DeBoer was a magistrate judge in the Porter County Superior Court for eight years.
Judge DeBoer also worked with her husband in civil litigation matters at different points throughout her career in the legal field.
As circuit court judge, she handles a mix of civil and criminal cases, from malpractice to murder. She oversees the juvenile justice center and also leads the juvenile services team. She presides over three problem-solving courts (juvenile & family drug court, truancy court, and transformation (mental health) court) – two of which were implemented by her. She also leads the Alternative Dispute Resolution program and the local Domestic Violence Committee. Judge DeBoer is known locally for having created a Domestic Relations Mediation Clinic for parties who could not afford attorneys, and for receiving a $50,000 grant to begin a guardianship program for incapacitated adults who need care, but have no one to provide it.
When Judge Terry Crone steps down later this year, there will no longer be any appointees remaining from the administration of former Gov. Joe Kernan (D). Four judges appointed by former Gov. Frank O’Bannon (D) remain on the Court of Appeals; two have served at least 24 years and two for more than a generation.
There are as many O’Bannon-appointed judges still sitting on the Court of Appeals as there are the combined number of judges still sitting on the same bench appointed by former Govs. Mitch Daniels (R) and Mike Pence (R) in their combined three more recent terms.