BIOGRAPHY
G. Michael Witte retired in 2021 as the Executive Director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission. He was a 2017 recipient of the Sen. Daniel Inouye Trailblazer Award, the highest award given by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Additionally, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Indiana bestowed Witte with its first Trailblazer Award and named the award in his honor.
Witte was the first Asian American to serve as judge in the State of Indiana. His 25-year judicial career included service as Judge of the Dearborn County Court, Lawrenceburg, IN (1985 – 2000); Judge of the Dearborn Superior Court No. 1 (2000-2008); and Judge of the Wayne Superior Court No. 1, Richmond, IN (2009). He received both his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Indiana University, served as President of the IU McKinney Law School’s Alumni Board in 2009, and was honored in 2008 by the I.U. Alumni Association as its Distinguished Asian Alumni. In 2011 he received the IUPUI Maynard K. Hine medal for significant contributions to campus and alumni programs. He also received from Equal Justice Works the law school’s 2012 Public Interest Recognition.
He is a 1991 graduate of the Indiana Judicial College, the 2002 class of the Graduate Program for Indiana Judges, and a former member of the Indiana Commission on Courts. Witte served as Chair of the ABA Judicial Division in 2011, Chair of the ABA National Conference of Specialized Court Judges in 2006, and also served on the ABA Standing Committee on Public Education and the ABA Standing Committee for Gavel Awards.
From 2006-09, Witte served as Co-chair of the ABA Judicial Division’s Standing Committee on Minorities in the Judiciary. He received his community’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Award in 2009. In addition, Indiana Minority Business Magazine named Witte a 2010 Champion of Diversity. Witte has been a panelist at many national programs on diversifying the judiciary and improving diversity pipelines to a judicial career, including a 2009 program at the Harvard Law School.
Witte served as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 5 Judicial Outreach Liaison in 2009-10, the NHTSA Judicial Fellow from 1995-98, and served on the U.S. Congressional Advisory Committee for Commercial Driver’s License, 2007-08. Judge Witte has performed NHTSA impaired driving compliance audits for Hawaii, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Kansas, Maryland, Washington, Vermont, Idaho, New Mexico, Illinois, and Puerto Rico.
A prolific teacher, Witte has taught at over 350 CLE presentations in more than 20 states and served as a guest or keynote speaker at over 20 events. He joined The National Judicial College faculty in 1994. In addition, he has served as faculty for programs presented by Indiana University, the American Bar Association, NHTSA, the National Center for State Courts, the National Criminal Justice Association, the Indiana Judicial Center, the Indiana State Bar Association and the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum. Witte’s teaching experience is primarily in the field of impaired driving, traffic court adjudication, and professional responsibility.