United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (in case citations, S.D. Ind.) is a federal district court in Indiana. It was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern and southern. The Southern District is divided into four divisions, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Evansville, and New Albany. Appeals from the Southern District of Indiana are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit). The court has five judges, four full-time United States magistrate judges and two part-time magistrate judges. The courtrooms are located in the Birch Bayh Federal Building in Indianapolis. History The United States District Court for the District of Indiana was established on March 3, 1817, by 3 Stat. 390. The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on April 21, 1928, by 45 Stat. 437. Of all district courts to be subdivided, Indiana existed for the longest time as a single court, 111 years. Divisions of the Southern District Indianapolis: Bartholomew County, Boone County, Brown County, Clinton County, Decatur County, Delaware County, Fayette County, Fountain County, Franklin County, Hamilton County, Hancock County, Hendricks County, Henry County, Howard County, Johnson County, Madison County, Marion County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Morgan County, Randolph County, Rush County, Shelby County, Tipton County, Union County, and Wayne County. Terre Haute: Clay County, Greene County, Knox County, Owen County, Parke County, Putnam County, Sullivan County, Vermillion County, and Vigo County. Evansville: Daviess County, Dubois County, Gibson County, Martin County, Perry County, Pike County, Posey County, Spencer County, Vanderburgh County, and Warrick County. New Albany: Clark County, Crawford County, Dearborn County, Floyd County, Harrison County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Jennings County, Lawrence County, Ohio County, Orange County, Ripley County, Scott County, Switzerland County, and Washington County. Current judges As of February 18, 2026: Former judges Chief judges Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982. Succession of seats List of U.S. attorneys since 1929 See also Courts of Indiana List of current United States district judges List of United States federal courthouses in Indiana References External links United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana United States Attorney, Southern District of Indiana