The workload of the Indiana Supreme Court appears to be gradually rebounding to normal levels following a pronounced dip in the number of cases appealed to the state's highest court amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Supreme Court's recently released annual report — covering the July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, period — shows 748 cases were submitted for review by the justices during the 2024 state budget year, a 4% increase compared to 2023, and 18% more than the 634 cases received in 2022.
Though the latest tally still is well below the approximately 875 cases annually filed at the Indiana Supreme Court in the years prior to the 2020 global coronavirus outbreak
.No single area was solely responsible for the growth in the court's 2024 caseload. The number of appeals of criminal and civil court decisions, as well as attorney disciplinary cases handled by the justices, and miscellaneous matters all increased last year, according to the report.
"I am so proud of the progress we make each year toward the promise that we can always do better, and we are deeply committed to keeping that promise in every year to come," said Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush.
As is typical, the Supreme Court declined to "grant transfer," or directly resolve, more than 90% of the criminal and civil cases from which one or more litigants appealed a lower court's verdict or ruling.
A total of 47 cases were the subject of a Supreme Court decision during the 2024 budget year, up from 35 cases in 2023, according to the report.
The five Republican-appointed high court justices also agreed, more often than not, on what they saw as the correct course for Indiana law.
Of the justices' 47 rulings, 60% were unanimous, 28% were either 4 to 1 or 3 to 1, and just 12% were decided 3 to 2, the report shows
.Justice Christopher Goff was the author of both the largest number of the court's majority opinions (10) as well as the most concurring or dissenting opinions (12) among his colleagues.
Similarly, Justice Geoffrey Slaughter, a Crown Point native, penned more non-majority opinions (7) than majority rulings (6) over the course of the year, while Justice Mark Massa, on the other hand, was responsible for seven majority rulings and just one dissenting opinion.
Justice Derek Molter, a Newton County native and the court's newest jurist, crafted 8 majority opinions and 4 concurrences or dissents during his first full year on the Supreme Court, according to the report.
The 66-page document also details the efforts the Supreme Court is making to address Indiana's attorney shortage, shows the growing availability of continuing legal education courses, and highlights the bar exam pass rate that fell to 61% in 2024 compared to 72% in 2021.
In addition, the report shows at least 62% of the 255 total requests for Indiana judges to allow video or still cameras in their trial courts have been approved since May 1, 2023, when the Supreme Court repealed the state's longstanding courtroom camera ban and agreed to give individual judges discretion on whether to permit cameras in the courtroom.