He was appointed to the Court's Second District on August 1, 2007 by Governor Mitch Daniels.
He was selected to a three-year term to serve as the court's Chief Judge on January 1, 2020.
He was elected on January 1, 1997 and was the presiding judge for the 2005–2006 term, as well as being the juvenile division chair.
In a child custody case, Judge Bradford approved a ruling of a magistrate forbidding either parent from instructing their son in their shared religious beliefs.
The magistrate questioned how Wicca differed from Satanism and required the parents to shelter their child from "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals".