Judges Christine Talley Haseman, Darcie Fawcett and Catherine Stafford will serve second consecutive terms on the Monroe County Circuit Court after they were reelected Tuesday.
Each judge was uncontested in the 2024 General Election and will serve a six-year term beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, and ending on Dec. 31, 2031.
Christine Talley Haseman has served as the Monroe County Circuit Court Division III judge since Jan. 1, 2019. She graduated from the IU Maurer School of Law with a law degree in 1995. Before taking her position as a judge, Haseman worked as an associate attorney, guardian ad litem, juvenile court referee, Monroe County Circuit Court Division VIII judge, deputy prosecutor, Indiana Supreme Court hearing officer and judge pro tempore.
Aside from hearing cases, Haseman is an adjunct instructor at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is also currently a member of the Indiana Child Welfare Improvement Committee and Stone Belt.
Haseman’s docket focuses on criminal cases.
One of her priorities for the upcoming term is making sure individuals in the criminal justice system are given the mental health care they need. She plans to continue working with the Monroe County Jail’s mental health care providers and staff to understand the mental health and substance abuse issues many incarcerated individuals face.
Additionally, Haseman said she strives to maintain her judicial philosophy of making everyone in her court feel heard and respected.
Darcie Fawcett has served as the Monroe County Circuit Court Division IX judge since Jan. 1, 2019. She earned her law degree from the IU Maurer School of Law in 2001. Prior to becoming a judge, Fawcett worked at a law firm in Bloomington and for two prosecutors’ offices.
Other than her role as a judge, Fawcett is a member of the Monroe County Community Corrections advisory board, the Justice Reinvestment advisory council, the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Race and Gender Fairness committee, the Judicial Readiness program subcommittee, the Monroe County Forms Committee and the Equity and Justice Best Practices subcommittee.
Fawcett has a criminal case docket.
Fawcett’s judicial philosophy is based on her belief that by addressing the needs of a criminal, their criminal behavior will stop.
In her second term, Fawcett said she aims to emphasize mental health as a struggle facing many people convicted of crimes. She will continue her practice of referring defendants to the correct problem solving courts in Monroe County based on their needs. These courts include the mental health and drug courts. Additionally, she will continue to ensure caseworkers are assigned to defendants who will then be placed in support programs based on their mental health or substance abuse needs.
Catherine Stafford has been the Monroe County Circuit Court Division IV judge since Jan. 1, 2019. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1997. Before taking her seat as a judge, Stafford worked for the Minnesota Justice Foundation, Indiana Legal Services and her private practice, Stafford Law Office, LLC. She also served as a guardian ad litem.
In addition to serving as a judge, Stafford is a member of the Indiana Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, the Indiana Domestic Relations Benchbook Committee and the Indiana Family Law Taskforce. She is an adjunct professor at the IU Maurer School of Law, where she has taught since 2002.
Stafford deals with a civil law docket, which includes family law, small claims, stalking and name and gender marker changes.
She said she prioritizes conducting court processes in a way that is understandable to the average person. This helps her maintain fairness between defendants with an attorney and defendants without. She finds this necessary because defendants are not legally provided an attorney in civil cases.
