Elizabeth F. Tavitas was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Eric Holcomb and began her service on August 6, 2018.
Judge Tavitas received her BA degree cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1985, and earned her JD degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1990. She was admitted to the Indiana Bar; United States District Court, Northern District of Indiana; and United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana in 1990. She is a 2007 Indiana Judicial College graduate and a graduate of the 2012 Indiana Graduate Program for Judges. Judge Tavitas is also an adjunct law professor at IU McKinney School of Law, where she teaches Indiana constitutional law.
Prior to her appointment to the court of appeals, Judge Tavitas served for more than 12 years as judge of the Superior Court of Lake County, Civil Division. Judge Tavitas started her legal career as a deputy prosecutor in the Lake County Prosecutor's Office; served as a juvenile public defender in the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division; and maintained a private practice. In 1998, she was appointed to the position of referee in the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division, where she served until 2006. During that time, Judge Tavitas served on the Juvenile Benchbook Committee.
Judge Tavitas served as Chair of NWI Volunteer Lawyers, Inc. from 2007 through 2012, and subsequently served as a board member. She previously served as a judicial appointee member of the Indiana Pro Bono Commission from 2007 through 2012. She is a former board member of Indiana Legal Services, Inc. In 2010, Judge Tavitas was elected as a board member of the Notre Dame Law School Association and continues to serve on the Executive Advisory Committee. She served as a judicial appointee member of the Indiana Supreme Court Domestic Relations Committee from 2012 through 2018. Judge Tavitas currently chairs the Indiana Family Law Taskforce and the Self-Help Court Forms Working Group of the Coalition for Court Access. She is a board member of both the Indiana Bar Foundation and the Coalition for Court Access. She is a member of the Indiana Judges Association. She is the current chair of the Indiana State Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section Council.
Judge Tavitas is an active member of several bar associations and is a member of the Sagamore American Inn of Court. She has served as a moot court judge for the Notre Dame Law School Trial Advocacy Program and as a judge for the "We the People" Program sponsored by the Indiana Bar Foundation. As a trial court judge, she sponsored Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) trainings. She has been a frequent speaker for lawyers, judges, and court staff trainings throughout Indiana.
She was named Most Influential Woman of Northwest Indiana in the Law in 2015. Judge Tavitas was a recipient of a 2019 Fellows Award from the Indiana Bar Foundation and Indiana Lawyer’s 2021 Distinguished Barrister award.
Judge Tavitas most enjoys spending time with her three children and her two grandchildren. She also enjoys reading, Notre Dame football games, traveling, hiking, and the arts.