# 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 July 1, 2024:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 14 | Chief Judge | Tanya Walton Pratt | Indianapolis New Albany | 1959 | 2010–present | 2021–present | — | Obama |
| 15 | District Judge | James R. Sweeney II | Indianapolis Terre Haute | 1961 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 16 | District Judge | J. P. Hanlon | Indianapolis Terre Haute | 1970 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 17 | District Judge | Matthew P. Brookman | Evansville Indianapolis | 1968 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 18 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Senior Judge | Sarah Evans Barker | Indianapolis New Albany | 1943 | 1984–2014 | 1994–2000 | 2014–present | Reagan |
| 11 | Senior Judge | Richard L. Young | Evansville Indianapolis | 1953 | 1998–2023 | 2009–2016 | 2023–present | Clinton |
| 12 | Senior Judge | William T. Lawrence | inactive | 1947 | 2008–2018 | — | 2018–present | G.W. Bush |
| 13 | Senior Judge | Jane Magnus-Stinson | Indianapolis Terre Haute New Albany | 1958 | 2010–2024 | 2016–2021 | 2024–present | Obama |

## Vacancies and pending nominations

| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
| 1 | Indianapolis Terre Haute New Albany | Jane Magnus-Stinson | Senior status | July 1, 2024 | – | – |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Robert C. Baltzell | IN | 1879–1950 | 1928–1950 | — | 1950 | Coolidge/Operation of law | death |
| 2 | William Elwood Steckler | IN | 1913–1995 | 1950–1986 | 1954–1982 | 1986–1995 | Truman | death |
| 3 | Cale James Holder | IN | 1912–1983 | 1954–1983 | — | — | Eisenhower | death |
| 4 | Samuel Hugh Dillin | IN | 1914–2006 | 1961–1993 | 1982–1984 | 1993–2006 | Kennedy | death |
| 5 | James Ellsworth Noland | IN | 1920–1992 | 1966–1986 | 1984–1986 | 1986–1992 | L. Johnson | death |
| 6 | Gene Edward Brooks | IN | 1931–2004 | 1979–1996 | 1987–1994 | — | Carter | retirement |
| 8 | Larry J. McKinney | IN | 1944–2017 | 1987–2009 | 2001–2007 | 2009–2017 | Reagan | death |
| 9 | John Daniel Tinder | IN | 1950–present | 1987–2007 | — | — | Reagan | elevation to 7th Cir. |
| 10 | David Hamilton | IN | 1957–present | 1994–2009 | 2008–2009 | — | Clinton | elevation to 7th Cir. |
* ↑ Reassigned from the District of Indiana.

## 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

Seat 1 :
| Seat reassigned from District of Indiana on April 21, 1928 by 45 Stat. 437 ||||
| Baltzell | 1928–1950 |
| Steckler | 1950–1986 |
| McKinney | 1987–2009 |
| Magnus-Stinson | 2010–2024 |
| vacant | 2024–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 ||||
| Holder | 1954–1983 |
| Barker | 1984–2014 |
| Sweeney II | 2018–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 ||||
| Dillin | 1961–1993 |
| Hamilton | 1994–2009 |
| Pratt | 2010–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 ||||
| Noland | 1966–1986 |
| Tinder | 1987–2007 |
| Lawrence | 2008–2018 |
| Hanlon | 2018–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Brooks | 1979–1996 |
| Young | 1998–2023 |
| Brookman | 2023–present |

## List of U.S. attorneys since 1929

| Name | Term started | Term ended | Presidents served under |
| George Jeffrey | 1929 | 1933 | Herbert Hoover |
| Val Nolan | 1933 | 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| B. Howard Caughran | 1940 | 1950 | Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman |
| Matthew E. Welsh | 1950 | 1952 | Harry S. Truman |
| Marshall Hanley | 1952 | 1953 | Harry S. Truman |
| Jack Brown | 1953 | 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Don Tabbert | 1957 | 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Richard P. Stein | 1961 | 1967 | John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson |
| K. Edwin Applegate | 1967 | 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon |
| Stanley B. Miller | 1970 | 1974 | Richard M. Nixon |
| John E. Hirschman | 1974 | 1975 | Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford |
| James B. Young | 1975 | 1977 | Gerald Ford |
| Virginia Dill McCarty | 1977 | 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| Sarah Evans Barker | 1981 | 1984 | Ronald Reagan |
| Richard L. Darst | 1984 | 1984 | Ronald Reagan |
| John Daniel Tinder | 1984 | 1987 | Ronald Reagan |
| Bradley L. Williams | 1987 | 1988 | Ronald Reagan |
| Deborah J. Daniels | 1988 | 1993 | Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush |
| John J. Thar | 1993 | 1993 | George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton |
| Judith A. Stewart | 1993 | 2000 | Bill Clinton |
| Timothy M. Morrison | 2000 | 2001 | Bill Clinton and George W. Bush |
| Susan Brooks | 2001 | 2007 | George W. Bush |
| Timothy M. Morrison | 2007 | 2010 | George W. Bush and Barack Obama |
| Joe Hogsett | 2010 | 2014 | Barack Obama |
| Joshua Minkler | 2015 | 2021 | Barack Obama and Donald Trump |
| Zachary A. Myers | 2021 | present | Joe Biden |