Nearly two years ago, a convicted rapist attacked a woman near a set of railroad tracks between Fort Wayne and New Haven.Now the woman is suing him, and the motel where she was staying, which employed him.INDIANAPOLIS – Allen Superior Judge Fran Gull on Wednesday advanced to the semi-final round of interviews for a post on the Indiana Supreme Court.
She and nine others will be questioned a second time about their qualifications Aug. 8 or 9.
Twenty-two judges and attorneys from around the state applied for the spot, most of them women.
Six of the semi-finalists are women; four men. Six are also judges.
Much has been made about gender because Indiana is one of only a few states not to have a woman on the state’s highest court.
The vacancy is a result of Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. stepping down from the bench to teach at the Indiana University law school in Indianapolis.
The seven-member Judicial Nominating Commission – chaired by Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Dickson – is tasked with narrowing the applicants
In Tuesday’s interview Gull, 53, focused on her jury trial experience and administrative skills. As a prosecutor and now a judge she has overseen about 500 jury trials. And she is involved on a number of state judicial committees.
After the second round of interviews in August, the commission will send a list of three finalists to Gov. Mitch Daniels for him to choose the next justice. It will be his third appointment to the five-member court.
nkelly@jg.net
