Indiana — Court Rules & Rules of Practice Guide

1. Court System Overview

Indiana courts: circuit and superior courts (co-equal county-level trial courts of general jurisdiction — the circuit/superior distinction is historical, not jurisdictional in most counties), small-claims dockets (within superior/circuit courts; Marion County has standalone township small-claims courts), city/town courts, the Indiana Court of Appeals (15 judges, statewide panels), the Indiana Tax Court, and the Indiana Supreme Court (5 justices; exclusive attorney-discipline jurisdiction). The Supreme Court promulgates all rules; official current texts with per-rule version history live at rules.incourts.gov — one of the best official rule platforms in the country.

2. The Ruleset Map

Indiana publishes standalone rulesets on a single official platform (verified at rules.incourts.gov / in.gov/courts/rules):

• No standalone probate or juvenile procedure rulesets (verified against the full official ruleset index at rules.incourts.gov — 20+ rulesets listed, none for probate or juvenile) — probate runs on the Probate Code (IC Title 29) + T.R. + county local rules; juvenile on IC Title 31 + T.R./Crim. R. as applicable (IC 31-32-1 expressly borrows criminal and trial rules for juvenile proceedings — verified via Justia code mirror).
• Local rules are real in Indiana: every county publishes local rules (posted on in.gov/courts) — motion practice, family-law rules, and probate rules are often county-specific.

3. Civil Litigation Mechanics

• Commencement: complaint + summons; responsive pleading 20 days (+3 for mail) (T.R. 6(D)(1), (G) after the 2026 reorganization). Motion practice runs on the same rule: a response to a motion is due in 20 days and any reply 14 days after the response, except for continuance and summary-judgment motions (T.R. 6(D)(2)).
• Pleading/motions: notice pleading; T.R. 12(B)(6) motions; but Indiana’s signature is T.R. 56 summary judgment — strict 30-day designation-of-evidence regime and rejection of the federal Celotex standard (movant bears the “more onerous burden: to affirmatively negate an opponent’s claim”): summary judgment is much harder to win than in federal court (verified — Hughley v. State, 15 N.E.3d 1000 (Ind. 2014): Indiana “consciously errs on the side of letting marginal cases proceed to trial”).
• Discovery: FRCP-style (pre-restyle numbering); trial-court discretion culture.
• Small claims: own ruleset; informal — S.C. R. 8(A): trial “shall not be bound by the statutory provisions or rules of practice, procedure, pleadings or evidence except provisions relating to privileged communications and offers of compromise” (verified); natural persons may self-represent or hire counsel, but entities on assigned/purchased claims generally need an attorney (S.C. R. 8(C), verified); Marion County’s standalone township small-claims courts operate under their own statute, IC 33-34 (verified).
• Commercial Court: eligible business disputes can be docketed into the Commercial Court (own rules, specialized judges, e-discovery-savvy case management) — check eligibility under Commercial Court Rule 2 (verified rule exists).

4. Criminal Practice Mechanics

• Post-2024, cite the restructured rules — the old CR numbering is dead; the restructured set took effect 1-1-2024 (verified from current rule pages; the official compiled PDF and the ruleset index page are both titled “Indiana Rules of Criminal Procedure — Updated, Effective January 1, 2025”) and reorganized everything.
• Path: felonies by information (grand jury optional) in circuit/superior criminal dockets; misdemeanors likewise (city/town courts for ordinance/minor matters).
• Speedy trial (verified from current Rule 4, eff. 1-1-2024): Rule 4(A) — jailed defendants must be tried within 180 days of charge or arrest (whichever is later); Rule 4(B) — jailed defendants who move for early trial must be tried within 70 calendar days of the motion; Rule 4(C) — persons on recognizance/release: one-year aggregate limit; discharge/dismissal on motion (exceptions for defendant-caused delay, congestion, emergency). Criminal Rule 4 practice is a defense staple.
• Discovery: Crim. R. 2.5 (eff. 1-1-2024) is an automatic-discovery rule (verified from the rule text): the parties “must endeavor to share information without court involvement”; no written discovery motion is required except to compel compliance, for additional discovery not covered by the rule, for a protective order, or for an extension of time; the State must disclose the Rule 2.5(B)(2) categories (witness lists and statements, defendant/co-defendant statements, grand-jury testimony of trial witnesses, expert reports, exhibits, items taken from the accused) within 30 days after the initial hearing or defense appearance, whichever is later, plus material that tends to negate guilt or reduce punishment (2.5(B)(3)) and impeachment material before trial (2.5(B)(4)); consult local rules for county practice.
• Post-conviction: P.C.R. 1 (collateral claims; P.C.R. 1 § 1(a) provides that an eligible person “may institute at any time a proceeding under this Rule” — no filing deadline in the rule; the rule text itself contains no laches provision, so any timeliness defense rests on case law) and P.C.R. 2 (“Belated Notice of Appeal—Belated Motion to Correct Error—Belated Appeal” — verified; the safety valve App. R. 9(A)(5) expressly references, verified).
• Criminal appeals: 30 days under App. R. 9(A) (verified), with P.C.R. 2 rescue.

5. Evidence

• Indiana Rules of Evidence — court-adopted, FRE-modeled (cited “Ind. Evidence Rule 702”); current rules restyled effective 1-1-2014 (verified from rule history pages); the official platform and its compiled PDF carry only the heading “Indiana Rules of Evidence — Updated, Effective July 1, 2026” and per-rule effective dates, with no original adoption date stated.
• Experts: Evid. R. 702(b) adds its own reliability clause — verified verbatim: “Expert scientific testimony is admissible only if the court is satisfied that the expert testimony rests upon reliable scientific principles.” Daubert factors are treated as helpful but not controlling (verified via ALFA International compendium fallback, quoting Alsheik v. Guerrero, 956 N.E.2d 1115 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011)).

6. Appellate Mechanics

• Routing: nearly all appeals of right → Court of Appeals; Tax Court for tax; transfer to the Supreme Court is discretionary (App. R. 56–57 transfer, Rule 63 review — verified via App. R. 4); mandatory direct Supreme Court appeals (App. R. 4, verified): death-sentence criminal appeals (and PCR appeals where the sentence was death), final judgments declaring a state or federal statute unconstitutional, parental-consent-to-abortion waiver appeals (Rule 62), and mandate-of-funds appeals (T.R. 60.5(B)/Rule 61).
• Initiating (verified from App. R. 9): Notice of Appeal filed within 30 days after entry of final judgment is noted in the CCS (or 30 days after ruling on / deemed denial of a motion to correct error); untimely = right to appeal “forfeited except as provided by P.C.R. 2” (App. R. 9(A)(5), verified verbatim). Case law treats the defect as non-jurisdictional: In re Adoption of O.R., 16 N.E.3d 965 (Ind. 2014) (“the untimely filing of a Notice of Appeal is not a jurisdictional bar precluding appellate review”).
• Motions to correct error (T.R. 59): optional except two mandatory grounds — newly discovered material evidence (incl. jury misconduct) and claims a jury verdict is excessive or inadequate; all other preserved issues may go straight to the appellate brief (verified from T.R. 59(A)).
• Interlocutory appeals (App. R. 14): of right for enumerated orders (e.g., payment of money, preliminary injunctions, sale/possession of real property — verified); otherwise trial-court certification (motion within 30 days) + Court of Appeals acceptance (motion within 30 days) — both discretionary (verified).
• Indiana appellate practice is fully e-filed (e-filing required of all attorneys in the Court of Appeals, Supreme Court, and Tax Court — verified) with standardized appendices (App. R. 49 filing verified; contents/form companions 50–51).

7. Rules of Professional Conduct

• Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct — Model Rules-based standalone set (cited “Ind. Prof. Cond. R. 3.3”); paired with the Admission & Discipline Rules.
• Advertising and solicitation are governed by Prof. Cond. R. 7.1–7.5 (7.1 Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services; 7.2 Advertising; 7.3 Direct Contact with Prospective Clients; 7.4 Communication of Fields of Practice and Specialization; 7.5 firm-name rule — titles verified from the official rule index; the ruleset header reads “Adopted, Effective January 1, 1987; Updated, Effective October 1, 2024”). Unauthorized practice is policed by original actions in the Supreme Court under Admis. Disc. R. 24, which may be brought without leave by the Attorney General, the Disciplinary Commission, or the Indiana State Bar Association (and by local bar associations with leave) — verified from the rule text; attorney registration/fees and the Roll of Attorneys are Admis. Disc. R. 2 and 4 (titles verified). Whether these provisions are “distinctive” relative to other states was not assessed.

8. Attorney Discipline & Enforcement

• Admission & Discipline Rule 23 (verified): the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction; the Disciplinary Commission investigates/prosecutes; hearing officers appointed by the Court try charges; the Court decides.
• Sanctions (verified from Rule 23): private administrative admonition (a confidential letter from the Commission’s Executive Director, Rule 23 § 12.1) → public reprimand → suspension for a fixed period not to exceed 180 days with automatic reinstatement (§ 18(a), verified) → suspension without automatic reinstatement (reinstatement petition required) → permanent disbarment; probation, interim/indefinite/noncooperation suspensions, resignation, and disability-inactive status also available. Current Rule 23 has no “private reprimand” tier — the confidential option is the administrative admonition.
• Opinions published (“In re ___”); the Roll of Attorneys (courtapps.in.gov) shows every lawyer’s discipline history (https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys/ — the search page states each record “includes license status, disciplinary history, contact information the attorney has chosen to display, and any other names the attorney has practiced under”; note that in.gov/courts/discipline now redirects to the Office of Judicial & Attorney Regulation page, in.gov/courts/ojar/).

9. Newcomer Orientation Notes

• rules.incourts.gov is your friend — per-rule version history pages make it easy to confirm current text (rare among states).
• Two 2020s overhauls: criminal rules restructured (2024) and Trial Rule 6 reorganized (2026) — old citations abound in forms and briefs; verify everything.
• Summary judgment is different here: designation deadlines are unforgiving and the substantive standard favors non-movants.
• County local rules matter — family, probate, and discovery practice vary by county; every county’s local rules are posted centrally.
• E-filing: the statewide Indiana E-Filing System (IEFS) is required of all attorneys in all Indiana courts — trial courts, Tax Court, Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court — and optional (but encouraged) for self-represented litigants (verified from the official E-filing User Guide). Odyssey (Tyler Technologies) is the Supreme Court’s no-cost statewide case management system, used by roughly 300 of Indiana’s 400+ trial courts (verified — so “Odyssey everywhere” slightly overstates: a minority of courts run other CMSs; e-filing via IEFS is the statewide layer).
• Self-help: indianalegalhelp.org — forms and self-help portal funded by the Indiana Bar Foundation and the Indiana Supreme Court (verified); Marion County small-claims guides.
• Out-of-state counsel: PHV under Admis. Disc. R. 3, Section 2 (verified) — Indiana co-counsel must appear and sign all briefs/papers; case-specific registration fee of $300 per case (for cases initiated after 1-1-2022; replaced the old annual-registration model).

10. Sources & Verification

Sources fetched 2026-08-28 (full verification pass 2) — all official (rules.incourts.gov / in.gov / iga-published code) unless labeled fallback:

• Official rules platform + full ruleset index: https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/index.htm (29 categories; no probate/juvenile ruleset)
• T.R. 6 (reorganized, eff. 7-1-2026; 20-day answer at 6(D)(1), +3 mail at 6(G)): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/trial/rule6/current.htm
• T.R. 59 (motion to correct error, mandatory grounds): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/trial/rule59/current.htm
• T.R. 86 (IEFS definition/e-service): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/trial/rule86/current.htm
• Crim. R. 4 (eff. 1-1-2024; 180 days / 70 days / 1 year): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/criminal/rule4/current.htm
• Evid. R. 702 (702(b) verbatim): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/evidence/rule702/current.htm ; Evid. R. 101 (2014 restyle date): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/evidence/rule101/current.htm
• App. R. 4 (mandatory Supreme Court jurisdiction): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/appellate/rule4/current.htm ; App. R. 9 (30 days; forfeiture except P.C.R. 2): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/appellate/rule9/current.htm ; App. R. 14 (interlocutory): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/appellate/rule14/current.htm ; App. R. 49 (appendices): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/appellate/rule49/current.htm
• Small Claims R. 8 (informality; representation): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/small-claims/rule8/current.htm
• Commercial Court Rules (adopted 6-1-2019, updated 10-1-2024; Rules 1–8): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/commercial/default.htm ; Rule 4 (opt-in/opt-out assignment): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/commercial/rule4/current.htm ; commercial-court counties & judges: https://secure.in.gov/courts/iocs/committees/commercial-courts/
• Post-Conviction Rules (PC 1, PC 2 titles): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/post-conviction/default.htm
• Admis. Disc. R. 23 (jurisdiction, Commission, hearing officers, sanctions): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admission-discipline/rule23/current.htm and …/rule23/section3/current.htm ; Admis. Disc. R. 3 § 2 (PHV, $300/case, co-counsel): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admission-discipline/rule3/current.htm
• Court of Appeals (15 judges, statewide 3-judge panels): https://www.in.gov/courts/appeals/about/ ; Supreme Court (5 justices, original jurisdiction over discipline/admission): https://www.in.gov/courts/supreme/about/ ; discipline overview: https://www.in.gov/courts/discipline/
• E-filing User Guide (mandatory for attorneys, optional for unrepresented): https://www.in.gov/courts/files/efiling-user-guide.pdf ; Odyssey CMS (statewide, Tyler, ~300 of 400+ courts): https://www.in.gov/courts/admin/tech/odyssey/
• indianalegalhelp.org (Bar Foundation + Supreme Court funded): https://www.indianalegalhelp.org/
• Fallback (labeled) — iga.in.gov blocks scripted fetch, so statutes via Justia code mirror: IC 33-29-2-4 ($10,000 small-claims docket): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-33/article-29/chapter-2/section-33-29-2-4/ ; IC 33-34-3-2 ($10,000 Marion County township courts): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-33/article-34/chapter-3/section-33-34-3-2/ ; IC 31-32-1 (juvenile procedure borrows criminal/trial rules): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-31/article-32/chapter-1/
• Fallback (labeled) — Hughley v. State (Ind. 2014) anti-Celotex standard: https://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/supreme-court/2014/49s04-1406-mi-386.html ; Daubert-helpful-not-controlling: https://www.alfainternational.com/compendium/product-liability-complex-torts-2/product-liability-daubert-standard/indiana/

Sources fetched 2026-09-02 (flag-resolution pass 3):

• Official — Criminal Rules compiled PDF: https://rules.incourts.gov/pdf/PDF%20-%20Criminal/criminal.pdf (title page “Indiana Rules of Criminal Procedure — Updated, Effective January 1, 2025”; confirms the §4 update-date detail) ; ruleset index page with the same heading and Rule 2.5 “Discovery” listing: https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/criminal/default.htm
• Official — Crim. R. 2.5 Discovery (eff. 1-1-2024; automatic discovery, no-motion default, State’s 30-day disclosure, exculpatory and impeachment duties): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/criminal/rule2-5/current.htm
• Official — P.C.R. 1 (§ 1(a) “may institute at any time”; no laches provision in the rule text): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/post-conviction/rule1/current.htm
• Official — Evidence Rules index and compiled PDF (heading “Updated, Effective July 1, 2026”; per-rule “Effective January 1, 2014” notes; no original adoption date stated): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/evidence/default.htm ; https://rules.incourts.gov/pdf/PDF%20-%20Evidence/evidence.pdf
• Official — Rules of Professional Conduct index (header “Adopted, Effective January 1, 1987 — Updated, Effective October 1, 2024”; Rules 7.1–7.5 titles): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/prof-conduct/default.htm ; Admission & Discipline Rules index (Rule 2 Registration and Fees; Rule 4 Roll of Attorneys; Rule 24 Rules Governing the Unauthorized Practice of Law): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admission-discipline/default.htm ; Admis. Disc. R. 24 text (original actions; who may bring them): https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admission-discipline/rule24/current.htm
• Official — Indiana Roll of Attorneys search page (record contents incl. disciplinary history; reachable via headless fetch): https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys/ ; in.gov/courts/discipline redirect target (Office of Judicial & Attorney Regulation): https://www.in.gov/courts/ojar/
• Labeled fallback (secondary) — In re Adoption of O.R., 16 N.E.3d 965 (Ind. Sept. 25, 2014), opinion text (holding that untimely Notice of Appeal “is not a jurisdictional bar precluding appellate review”): https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2736846/in-the-matter-of-the-adoption-of-or-nr-v-kg-and-cg/

Sources fetched 2026-09-24 (claim-by-claim audit):

• Official rule text as published on courtrules.net (imported from rules.incourts.gov, August 2026): T.R. 6(D), (G) (effective July 1, 2026), 12; Crim. R. 4(A)–(C); Small Claims R. 8(C); Commercial Court R. 4; App. R. 9(A) — all matched.
• Note: the site’s copy of Admission and Discipline Rule 23 currently holds only the rule’s table of contents, so the § 8 discipline statements rest on the 2026-09-02 reading of rules.incourts.gov, not on the site’s text.

Not verified (flagged): none.