CREATIVE PUBLIC SERVICE

 

“What’s the main difference between judges and lawyers?”

“Lawyer’s know they’re boring.”

That’s the joke my friend Mark Telloyan shared now that he has become a member of the judicial system. He says his official title is Judge, but sometimes paperwork refers to him as “The Honorable” and attorneys often address him as “Your Honor.”

 

“That takes some getting used to,” says Mark.

 

Telloyan is one of eight Superior Court judges in St. Joseph County, Indiana. His court handles general jurisdiction for civil matters. The county uses merit selection where a nominating commission interviews applicants and selects names to be forwarded to the Indiana governor. Governor Eric Holcomb made the final selection and informed Mark by telephone. However, he almost didn’t take the call because he thought it was a telemarketer.

 

Mark initially assumed the bench on Valentine’s Day, 2022. Four days later he suffered a stroke and after treatment for a brain tumor convalesced on medical leave for seven months. After therapy he resumed his judgeship in September, 2023. “A lot of people were praying for me and I really appreciate it,” he writes.

 

Preparation for service involved attending New Judicial Officer Orientation, also known as Baby Judge School. During that time he realized that not only his degree from Notre Dame Law School and clerking for another judge, but also being an English major at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College was good preparation. He continues his schooling at Indiana Spring Judicial College.

 

In order to become a judge, Mark voluntarily resigned from adjunct teaching positions at Notre Dame and Grace College of Winona Lake. By statute he also had to resign from an elected position on the St. Joseph County Council. He says he misses the teaching a little bit, but not the politics at all.

 

In a day when our nation is in need of honorable judges, Mark has made his mark in creative public service.