The State of Indiana is seeking applications as two Lake County judges are set to retire.
Judges Natalie Bokota and Sheila Moss will retire effective Dec. 31, Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Massa said in a release.
Criminal Judge Salvador Vasquez is expected to replace Moss, while Judge Aleksandra Dimitrijevic is expected to replace Bokota and Judge Daniel Burke is slated to take Vasquez’s spot in major felony criminal courts, sources said.
The open vacancies are to fill Burke and Dimitrijevic’s courtrooms in Hammond. Applicants have to live in Lake County, be a U.S. citizen and admitted to the bar in Indiana.
The move represents one of the biggest shuffles in Lake County’s criminal courts in recent years.
“It’s where I really got my start as an attorney,” Burke said, of his former experience as a deputy Lake County Prosecutor in Crown Point. “That’s where I learned how to be in the courtroom.”
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He believes he will take over Community Transition Court from Vasquez – a program that helps select inmates better transition into society in the last years of their sentence – but added it may still have to be decided.
When the two vacancies opened in felony criminal courts, Dimitrijevic said it was the best time to jump over.
“My hand was kinda forced,” she said. “I figured they are not going to put someone older than me, I’m gonna do it.”
A veteran Lake County deputy prosecutor of 16 years – she was appointed as judge in 2019, where she also ran a drug court in Hammond, which began during her tenure. Dimitrijevic said she anticipates taking over the mental health court in Crown Point from Bokota – like drug court, one of multiple “problem-solving” courts meant to divert successful defendants away from long-term incarceration.
“When I got appointed, most of the crimes committed were because of some kind of addiction,” she said. “Drugs, alcohol, guns, women, money.
“There’s enough people to fill up our drug court as a full-time thing,” she said. “It’s so mentally draining. It’s a roller coaster. You are trying to help people. Addiction is not something that is easy to get through. I am proud of it.”
When people show their life successes – like completing drug court, getting a job, or getting married – “it really makes you feel good,” she said. “Maybe, we helped a little to change that person’s life.”
Being on the bench has made her “a little more understanding,” “compassionate,” and to “have more patience,” she said. Her goal was to “be fair,” and “hold someone accountable, if that’s the appropriate thing to do.”
Applications via the Indiana Courts Portal are due at noon Oct. 8.
A Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission is expected to conduct interviews on Oct. 23. Then, they will hold a public vote to send “two panels” of “five nominees” to Gov. Mike Braun, a release stated.
Moss was appointed by former Gov. Evan Bayh in the early 1990s. Bokota was appointed as a judge by former Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2020. Burke took over as a civil judge in Hammond in May 2025.
Applications are available online at https://www.in.gov/courts/selection/lake/2601/application.