Lake County judge applies for Indiana Supreme Court spot

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Updated: February 29, 2012 8:06AM

A Lake County judge has applied to join the Indiana Supreme Court, according to a release.

Lake Superior Court Judge Michael Pagano was one of 15 candidates to submit an application for the seat being vacated by Chief Justice Randall Shepard, the release said.

Pagano could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Most of the candidates are from Indianapolis, although a judge from Floyd County and people from Columbus, Evansville and West Lafayette also applied.

Shepard announced last year that he is retiring in March.

A committee made up of Shepard and six others will narrow the list to three candidates, which it will then send to Gov. Mitch Daniels. The committee will interview the candidates on Feb. 8 and 9 and vote on a list of semifinalists. They’ll interview that group again on Feb. 22 to decide the final three. Once the list has been sent to Daniels, he has 60 days to name the replacement.

The public can view all the applications starting next week on the Indiana Supreme Court’s website at in.gov/judiciary/supreme.