Judge, Circuit Court and Judge, Superior Court (contested elections)

The basics

Term

6 years (Ind. Const. Art. 7, Sec. 7 for circuit judges; IC 33-29-1-3 for standard superior courts). ^{[5, 6]}

Term limit

None. ^[5]

Who may stand

Admitted to practice law in Indiana and a resident of the circuit or county. ^{[5, 7]}

On the 2026 ballot

118 races in Indiana (Judge, Circuit Court; Judge, Superior Court)

What the law puts in this job

• Presides over trials and hearings, decides bail and sentences, supervises probation officers the court appoints, and manages court staff and dockets. ^{[1, 2]}
• The court's county-funded costs (staff, courtrooms) are appropriated by the county council, which must fund the salaries the law requires. ^{[3, 4]}

What the officeholder decides

• Pretrial release and bail (Public Question 1 would allow courts to deny bail in more cases if approved); caseload pressure (33 counties had weighted-caseload utilization above 1.00 in 2025). ^{[12, 13, 14]}

Who the officeholder answers to

• Voters; the Indiana Supreme Court and the Commission on Judicial Qualifications (discipline); the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court (appeals). ^[11]

What it pays, and who sets that

• Paid by the state: $110,500 as adjusted since 2006 (IC 33-38-5-6); the full-time prosecutor salary that equals it was reported at $183,513 for 2024. County may add up to $5,000. ^{[8, 9, 10]}
• County supplement up to $5,000 a year.

Questions worth asking a candidate

Ours, not a questionnaire anyone answered. They come from what the job actually involves.

• How do you manage a crowded docket without delaying cases?
• What is your approach to pretrial release and use of problem-solving courts?
• What experience do you have in the case types this court hears?

Sources

Office research by Legal Insights (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Code 2026 edition, state agencies and county budgets. Nothing here rates an officeholder or candidate.