New justice to join Supreme Court next week

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A county judge will be sworn into office next week as the newest member of the Indiana Supreme Court.

The court says Tippecanoe County Judge Loretta Rush will take the oath of office during a private ceremony on Wednesday. That will make her Indiana's first female Supreme Court justice since 1999.

A public swearing-in ceremony is being planned for Dec. 28.

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels picked Rush in September to replace Justice Frank Sullivan Jr., who stepped down in July after 19 years on the court.

Rush has been a juvenile court judge for 14 years and has been working to turn that court's case load over to another judge before joining the Supreme Court.