He then joined the military before returning to Bloomington and attending the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, graduating in 1960 with his LL.B.
[1] DeBruler, a Democrat, was appointed by Governor Matthew E. Welsh as judge of the Steuben County Circuit Court in 1963 and was re-elected to the same position in 1964.
[1][2] DeBruler was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court in 1958 by Governor Roger D. Branigin following the death of Justice Donald Mote.
There was some controversy over whether DeBruler should stand for re-election to his position on the bench in 1968 or 1970 due to conflicting understandings of the provisions of the state constitution on the matter.
[2] A notable dissent came from DeBruler in the case of whether a man who quit his jobs for religious reasons was entitled to unemployment benefits.
The principles of DeBruler's dissent were later enshrined by the United States Congress into the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act.