ANDERSON — With his wife, Keri, holding a Bible and his toddler son, Oscar, in the courtroom, Anderson attorney David Happe was sworn in as Madison County’s newest judge during a brief ceremony on Wednesday.

“At the beginning of this year, we would never have imagined that we would be swearing in a new judge,” Happe said. “I think we were all shocked.”

“Judge Hopper really put the honor in honorable.”

Gov. Mitch Daniels named Happe, 38, a Republican, as the new judge of Superior Court 4 on May 14. The bench was left vacant with the sudden death of Judge David W. Hopper, 60, of a heart attack on Feb. 25. The Indiana Supreme Court chose attorney Geoffrey Yelton to serve as the court’s temporary judge.

Yelton did not apply to replace Hopper, whose portrait will eventually be placed inside Superior Court 4. Yelton will become Madison County chief administrative public defender when Happe officially takes the bench on Monday.

“Today, the governor of this state and the citizens of Madison County have called out one of our own to accept a public trust and to declare his fidelity to the responsibility of judicial office in this very public ceremony,” said Superior Court 1 Judge Dennis Carroll, who administered the oath of office,

About 65 people — mostly fellow Republicans but with a smattering of Democrats — attended the swearing-in.

In brief comments following the ceremony in his courtroom, Happe thanked his family for supporting him through the selection process. He praised the staff of Superior Court 4 for smoothly continuing the court’s business.

“They’re a good group of people who did a great job — and I’ll do my best to stay out of their way,” Happe joked.

A former prosecutor and chief administrative public defender, Happe has worked in private practice since early 2007. He ran an unsuccessful campaign against Judge Thomas Clem in 2002 for Superior Court 5.

Fourteen other Madison County lawyers applied to replace Hopper. Only six, however, received interviews: Happe; former Prosecutor Rodney Cummings; current Deputy Prosecutor Rudolph Pyle III; former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory K. Scott; former Anderson mayoral candidate John M. Blevins; and former Superior Court 5 judicial candidate William C. Davisson.

As judge of Superior Court 4, Happe will oversee low-level felony criminal cases, landlord-tenant disputes, small claims cases and collections. Only about 10 percent of his cases will deal with criminal charges, he said. Happe’s term will run through Dec. 31, 2014.

Happe thanked the governor, who did not attend the ceremony, for ultimately choosing him.

“I’m going to do my best to live up to the confidence they’ve shown in me,” he said.