WARSAW – Torrey J. Bauer, Judge of Kosciusko Superior Court 2, has filed with the Secretary of State’s office his intention to seek re-election.

Bauer, a Republican, was unopposed in the 2014 general election after having received 60.4 percent of the vote in the Kosciusko County Republican primary, according to a news release.

Torrey Bauer

Bauer released the statement Sunday.

Bauer is a 1986 graduate of Grace College and graduated with honors from the Indiana University School of Law in 1991. Prior to obtaining the bench, Judge Bauer served the community in private legal practice in Kosciusko County for 23 years, first at Lavender and Bauer P.C., and then Bauer Law office P.C.

Bauer is a graduate of the Indiana Judicial College and is scheduled to commence the Indiana Graduate Program for Judges in May of this year. He also presently serves on the Indiana Supreme Court’s Domestic Violence Committee and Courthouse Security Committees. Judge Bauer is also a member of the Executive Committee and board of the Kosciusko County Community Corrections Program and is a supervising Judge for the Kosciusko County Drug Alcohol Program.

Prior to the bench, Bauer was heavily involved in the community serving on the boards of Kosciusko Right to Life, Right to Life of Northern Indiana and the Heartline Pregnancy Center. He also served on the board of the Combined Community Athletic Complex. He taught Business  Law as an adjunct professor at IVY Tech Community College and was the assistant men’s varsity soccer coach at Warsaw Community High School from 1999 through 2014.

Bauer indicated through his news release that he is pleased with what has been accomplished since he became judge. He was able put in place a system to recoup the costs of Public Defender fees incurred by the county, which will result in over $600,000 being returned to the county and its taxpayers by the end of 2020.

He sad his “greatest satisfaction comes from modifying the process by which cases were previously moved through the Superior Court 2.

“We are so efficient now that the time it takes to resolve a criminal case is solely in the hands of the parties. There is never a delay as a result of the court being unable to accommodate the needs of the parties to resolve their case. These changes were not simple and could not have been accomplished without the hard work and cooperation of both the Kosciusko County Prosecutors office and the Kosciusko County Bar Association,” Bauer said. “What we have now is a fair, efficient, orderly and streamlined process for the handling of the hundreds of suspended sentence and probation violations filed as well as the over 1,800 misdemeanor and felony criminal cases filed each year in Superior Court 2.”

Additionally, Judge Bauer notes, because of the court’s efficiency, his 23 years of extensive private practice experience is available to be used when requested to serve as special judge in multiple civil and domestic cases filed in Kosciusko County and northern Indiana.  

“At times, judges are required to make difficult decisions that can be unpopular; the code of judicial conduct requires that. Nonetheless, I will stand by the work I have done in Superior Court 2. I would encourage anyone who is interested to speak with the Prosecutor’s Office, law enforcement officers, defense attorneys or probation officers who work in Superior Court 2 and ask them if they believe Superior Court 2 is in better shape now than five years ago and whether I deserve their support for re-election.” 

Judge Bauer is married to Julie Bauer, Dean of Students at Lakeland Christian Academy and has two children, Keely, age 16, and Kade, age 11.