AUBURN â Becoming a judge in January 1989 was not an easy decision for Kevin Wallace. Judge Charles Quinn, the first judge of DeKalb Superior Court I, had died while in office. Within a matter of days, the Indiana Supreme Court appointed Wallace as the courtâs temporary judge Jan. 24, 1989. A permanent judge would be selected by then-Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, who had taken office just weeks earlier. Like Bayh, Wallace was a Democrat, making him a natural to be the governorâs choice. But Wallace then would have to run for election by the voters in 1990 in a Republican-dominated county. âTo give up your practice and to take a position that you knew you were going to have to face the voters, run for election, in the next year, that was a challenging time,â Wallace said about the uncertainty involved in his choice.