By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A lawyer from southeastern Indiana was appointed Tuesday to the state Court of Appeals, giving the panel a seventh woman among its 15 judges.

Gov. Eric Holcomb picked Leanna Weissmann from the Dearborn County city of Aurora from among three finalists, all women, selected by the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission. She will replace Judge John Baker, who retired from the court in July after serving 31 years.

The state appeals court is an intermediate step between county courts and the Indiana Supreme Court on appeals of criminal and civil law cases. Weissmann will join the appeals court without experience as a full-time county judge like those on the court typically have.

Holcomb pointed to Weissmann’s experience with more 400 appeal cases on both civil and criminal issues, including arguing before the Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court.

Weissmann has also been a member of the state’s attorney disciplinary commission since 2013.