CHAPTER 1. JUDGES; GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICTS

IC 33-25
    ARTICLE 25. COURT OF APPEALS

IC 33-25-1
     Chapter 1. Judges; Geographic Districts

IC 33-25-1-1
Court of appeals
    
Sec. 1. The court of appeals consists of fifteen (15) judges, who serve for the hearing and decision of causes in five (5) geographic districts described in section 2 of this chapter under Article 7, Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana.
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.4.

IC 33-25-1-2
Districts
    
Sec. 2. Indiana is divided into five (5) geographic districts, which shall be designated as the "court of appeals - First District; Second District; Third District; Fourth District; and Fifth District" as follows:
        (1) First District: Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, Dubois, Fayette, Floyd, Fountain, Franklin, Gibson, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Sullivan, Switzerland, Union, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Warrick, Washington, and Wayne.
        (2) Second District: Adams, Blackford, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Delaware, Grant, Hamilton, Howard, Huntington, Jay, Madison, Marion, Miami, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Wells, and White.
        (3) Third District: Allen, Benton, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Jasper, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Noble, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, Steuben, Warren, and Whitley.
        (4) The entire state constitutes the Fourth District.
        (5) The entire state constitutes the Fifth District.
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.4.

IC 33-25-1-3
Residency requirements for judges
    
Sec. 3. (a) Judges of the First, Second, and Third Districts of the court of appeals must have resided in their respective districts before appointment to the court. However, judges of the court of appeals appointed before July 1, 1993, must reside in the district from which they are appointed.
    (b) The following requirements apply to judges of the Fourth and Fifth Districts of the court of appeals:         (1) One (1) judge must have resided in the First District before appointment to the court.
        (2) One (1) judge must have resided in the Second District before appointment to the court.
        (3) One (1) judge must have resided in the Third District before appointment to the court.
    (c) When a vacancy is created in the court of appeals, the individual who is appointed by the governor to fill the vacancy must be a resident of the district in which the vacancy occurred.
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.4.

IC 33-25-1-4
Location for hearings
    
Sec. 4. All districts of the court of appeals shall sit for the hearing and decision of causes in:
        (1) Indianapolis; or
        (2) any other place that the chief judge of the court of appeals may designate.
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.4.

IC 33-25-1-5
Docketing of cases
    
Sec. 5. A case appealed to the court of appeals shall be placed upon the docket of the district from which the appeal is taken. If, at any time, the court of appeals believes there is an undue disparity in the number of cases pending on the dockets of the districts, the court of appeals may order the transfer of cases as it considers advisable from one (1) district to another.
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.4.

IC 33-25-1-6
Sitting as judge of circuit, superior, and criminal courts
    
Sec. 6. The judges of the court of appeals are competent to sit as judges of the circuit, superior, and criminal courts.
As added by P.L.98-2004, SEC.4.