After HE Turns Up the Spotlight, Indiana Judiciary’s Positive Publicity Machine Keeps Rolling

Chief Justice Loretta Rush in a posed photo in Handcock County, Indiana. Loretta Rush is the self-described "old person at 'the statehouse'."

Routine judicial milestones are suddenly generating favorable headlines as Chief Justice Loretta Rush faces renewed scrutiny

By Gregg Smith

INDIANAPOLIS — Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Indiana's judiciary have been appearing in a decidedly favorable light across Indiana's public-information landscape lately — judges visiting students, judges receiving awards, judges celebrating lengthy careers and Rush appearing prominently as the public face of the state's court system.

The latest example came from Hancock County, where Judge Dan Marshall was recognized for 24 years on the bench and the Greenfield Reporter published a local story about the achievement.

It is a respectable milestone. But it is hardly an extraordinary one within Indiana's judiciary.

Marshall was only one of nine Indiana judicial officers receiving the same 24-year recognition this year. The others were John Feick, Matthew Kincaid, Thomas Lett, Marc Rothenberg, Scott Stowers, Douglas Tate, Jeffrey Todd and Bob Witham. The awards were presented at the judiciary's annual educational conference.

And 24-year awards are nothing new. In Lake County, an embattled judge has got a public award from Rush? Moss has been on the Lake Superior Court for a very long time—the county's current biography says since 1993, meaning she will have served roughly 33 years; yet, no award. But then Moss was involved in a crooked DI case HE has exposed.

Eleven judicial officers received them in 2024, six in 2023 and two in 2025. Even Rush herself received the same recognition in 2022, when she was one of 12 judicial officers honored for reaching the milestone.

That history raises a different question for the Hoosier Enquirer.

Why do routine judicial milestones increasingly seem to be producing favorable publicity at a moment when Rush and Indiana's judicial system are facing renewed scrutiny?

The Hoosier Enquirer has spent considerable time shining a bright light on issues involving Indiana's judiciary, including judicial accountability, attorney discipline and decisions made during Rush's tenure. HE's reporting has raised questions the state's judicial establishment would undoubtedly prefer to answer on its own terms.

There is no evidence establishing that Rush ordered a publicity campaign in response to HE's coverage, and the 24-year recognition program clearly predates the present controversy. Indiana was publicly recognizing judges for the same milestone at least as far back as 2017, when nine judicial officers received the award.

But that does not make the judiciary's public-relations operation irrelevant.

The Indiana Judicial Branch now routinely produces press releases about judicial achievements, publishes downloadable photographs of award recipients and promotes educational and community appearances. Its 2024-25 annual report, for example, highlighted 55 judicial officers visiting more than 4,300 students and civic-group members for Constitution Day, along with photographs and other public-facing activities.

The judiciary's own awards program even recognizes judges and journalists for “communicating the work of the courts.” In 2024, those outreach awards went to Marion County Judge Mark Stoner and journalists Kara Kenney and Brad Forestal of WRTV.

None of that proves an effort to manipulate internet search results or bury unfavorable coverage. But it does mean Indiana's judiciary understands something every politician, corporation and media organization understands in 2026: positive stories create positive search results.

Search for a public official often enough and yesterday's controversy can eventually compete with today's awards, school appearances, speeches, photographs and ceremonial recognitions.

That makes the timing worth watching.

Rush has been Chief Justice since 2014. Indiana judges have been reaching 24 years of service for decades. Judicial education conferences are not new. Neither are ceremonial awards.

What appears different to HE is the visibility of the judiciary's public-facing activity at precisely the time its leadership is receiving increased scrutiny.

That is an observation, not proof of motive.

Perhaps this is simply what a modern judicial communications office does. Perhaps local newspapers are hungry for positive community stories. Perhaps the increased visibility reflects nothing more than the ease with which state press releases and photographs can now migrate onto local news websites and search engines.

Or perhaps Indiana's judicial leadership recognizes that public confidence is shaped not only in courtrooms and judicial opinions, but also on Google.

There is one particularly revealing irony.

Rush herself received the very same 24-year certificate in 2022. She shared that distinction with 11 other judicial officers.

So Marshall's 24 years should certainly be acknowledged. Four terms of judicial service represent a substantial commitment to public life.

But Hoosiers should also understand what they are seeing.

This is not a once-in-a-generation judicial accomplishment. It is an established annual recognition program involving numerous judges every year.

The larger story may therefore be less about 24 years on the bench than about how aggressively Indiana's judicial branch now tells its own story — and why that favorable story is becoming increasingly visible while tougher questions about Rush, Daniels, and the corrupt institution remain unanswered.

The Hoosier Enquirer helped turn the lights back toward Indiana's judiciary. Whether the recent stream of favorable publicity is a response to that scrutiny cannot presently be established. But HE intends to keep those lights turned on brightly.