Randall Terry Shepard (born December 24, 1946) is a former Chief Justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

Early life and education

Randall Terry Shepard was born in Lafayette in 1946, but spent most of his formative years in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

. Shepard is a seventh generation

Hoosier Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate; however, "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 ...

. He is an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

and has received the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1969 and from the

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1972, and earned a Master of Laws degree from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

in 1995.

Career

Shepard served as executive assistant to Mayor Russell Lloyd of Evansville. In 1979, he was the Republican Party's nominee for mayor himself. He was later a special assistant to the Under Secretary of the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

. He was judge of the

Vanderburgh County Vanderburgh County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 180,136. The county seat is in Evansville. While Vanderburgh County was the eighth-largest county in 2020 population in Indiana, it is also the eighth-s ...

Superior Court from 1980 to 1985. He was appointed the ninety-ninth justice of the Indiana Supreme Court by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Robert D. Orr Robert Dunkerson Orr (November 17, 1917 – March 10, 2004) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 45th governor of Indiana from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he served as United States Ambassador to Singap ...

in 1985. He was chosen to become the chief justice of Indiana in March 1987, then the youngest state chief justice. Chief Justice Shepard was a chairperson of Indiana's State Student Assistance Commission and a trustee of the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

for eleven years. He has also served as chair of the ABA Appellate Judges Conference and of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. He is currently the honorary chair and a member of the executive committee of the

Indiana Landmarks Indiana Landmarks is a private non-governmental heritage preservation organization focused on the U.S. state of Indiana. It is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1960 as Historic Landmarks Foundation ...

. Shepard served as President of the National Conference of Chief Justices in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, Shepard was appointed by Chief Justice

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...

to be on the U.S. Judicial Conference

Advisory Committee on Civil Rules Advisory may refer to: * Advisory board, a body that provides advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation * Boil-water advisory, a public health directive given by government to consumers when a community's drinking wate ...

, which the U.S. Supreme Court uses to form changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In September 2005 Shepard was chosen by the

Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission, which also serves as the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission, is a panel consisting of the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court and six other members chosen by those admitted to practice law ...

and reappointed by

Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American Academic administration, academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. A Republican Party (United ...

to the Supreme Court. On November 4, 2008 the public voted to keep Shepard on the court in a statewide retention election. In July 2007, Shepard and former Governor Joe Kernan were appointed by Daniels to co-chair the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform. As a justice, he has authored more than 900 majority opinions. He has also published more than 65 law review articles. Shepard retired March 23, 2012. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels appointed Mark Massa to take Shepard's seat on the Court.Gov. Daniels appoints Mark Massa for Indiana Supreme Court vacancy
/ref>

Personal life

Shepard is married to Amy MacDonell and has one daughter, Martha, born in 1995. He occasionally teaches law at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Randall T. 1946 births Living people People from Lafayette, Indiana People from Evansville, Indiana Chief justices of the Indiana Supreme Court Princeton University alumni Yale Law School alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Indiana Republicans

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links