Ellen Boshkoff Is Finalist for Next Indiana Supreme Court Justice

"The (Indiana) Supreme Court plays a vital role in applying the laws passed by the legislature, enforcing the rights guaranteed by the state constitution and ensuring that our adversarial process is fair," Ellen E. Boshkoff, a lawyer at Baker & Daniels and finalist to become the next Indiana Supreme Court justice, said in an e-mail, the Indianapolis Star reported in its story, "9 Candidates, 1 Thing in Common: All Semifinalists for Next Justice Graduated From an IU Law School."

"It would be both an honor and a privilege to be able to contribute to the court's work," Boshkoff added.

Being a graduate of one of Indiana University's two law schools, in Indianapolis and Bloomington, is one of a few characteristics shared by all nine remaining candidates to fill the vacancy on the state's highest court, as revealed in applications that also lay out their careers in detail and even reveal their hobbies, according to the story. The five men and four women - including seven contenders from Indianapolis and its neighboring counties - made the cut after the first round of interviews last week by the Judicial Nominating Commission, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Second interviews will come July 30, giving the seven-member commission time to check dozens of references. The panel will then choose three nominees to send to Gov. Mitch Daniels, who will appoint the successor to retiring Justice Theodore Boehm, 71. A spot on the court last opened up 11 years ago, the story reported.

The five-member court, the Indianapolis Star reported, is the last stop for any question based on state law. The story cited some recent examples: The justices upheld the governor's lease of a toll road in Northern Indiana and the state's voter ID law; ordered that, starting next year, police make video recordings of all interrogations of felony suspects; and scolded the Marion County traffic judge last month for his treatment of a defendant in court.

Indiana is one of only two states with an all-male high court, the Indianapolis Star story reported. Only four women made the first cut for the state's newest justice after they accounted for 19 of the 34 applicants.

Boshkoff, a partner at Baker & Daniels, focuses on business litigation and employment claims, the Indianapolis Star reported in finalists' profiles. She graduated from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington after earning her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College.