In Lake Co. Bd. of Comm’rs v. State, No. 22S-MI-64, the Supreme Court grants transfer and, in a unanimous opinion authored by the Chief Justice, addresses “a question of first impression: for determining which entity is responsible for defending and indemnifying probation officers in a lawsuit, are these officials state or county employees?” The Supreme Court agrees with the Lake County Board of Commissioners and County Council, and holds that “probation officers are state employees for purposes of the general statute requiring the Attorney General to defend state employees,” I.C. § 4-6-2-1.5, and reverses the judgment of the trial court, which had been affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals. The 18-page ruling includes an interesting discussion of the integral role of the judiciary in supervising probation officers, as well as why it is more efficient for the Office of the Attorney General to defend probation officers than counties, where “unequal and limited county budgets could restrict the efficacy of representation.”