News Archive

G. Michael Witte, ’82, Executive Director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, has been named one of the recipients of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award. Witte will receive the honor on November 3 at a special ceremony during the association’s convention in Washington, D.C.

In 1984, Witte became the first Asian Pacific American to be elected to the bench in the state of Indiana. He has been in his current role on the Disciplinary Commission since 2010, the same year he became the first Asian American to serve as chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Judicial Division. He was honored in 2008 by the ABA’s National Conference of Specialized Court Judges as its National Distinguished Judge of the Year. He received the Trailblazer award from the Indiana Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association on October 12.

Witte’s 25-year career on the bench included service as judge in Dearborn County Court from 1985 to 2000, judge in Dearborn Superior Court from 2000 to 2008, and judge in Wayne Superior Court in 2009.

The Daniel K. Inouye Award recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of lawyers who have paved the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American attorneys. The people receiving these awards have demonstrated vision, courage, and tenacity, and made substantial and made lasting contributions to the Asian Pacific American legal profession, and the broader Asian Pacific American community.