The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (in case citations, N.D. Ind.) was created in 1928 by an act of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

that split

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

into two separate districts, northern and

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

. As part of the act, the Northern District was divided into three divisions, South Bend,

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, and

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

(which has a sub-office in Lafayette). Appeals from this court are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (except for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

). The court has eight judges and four magistrate judges. As of October 2021, the United States Attorney is Clifford D. Johnson.

History

The United States District Court for the District of Indiana was established on March 3, 1817, by .Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 392.U.S. District Courts of Indiana, Legislative history
''

Federal Judicial Center The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States. According to , the main areas of respo ...

''. The District was subdivided into Northern and

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

Districts on April 21, 1928, by . Of all district courts to be subdivided, Indiana existed for the longest time as a single court, 111 years.

Divisions of the Northern District

*Fort Wayne: Adams County, Allen County,

Blackford County Blackford County is located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Indiana. The county is named for Judge Isaac Blackford, who was the first speaker of the Indiana General Assembly and a long-time chief justice of the Indiana Supreme ...

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missouri ...

, Grant County, Huntington County, Jay County, LaGrange County, Noble County, Steuben County, Wells County, and Whitley County. *Hammond: Lake County and Porter County. *Lafayette: Benton County, Carroll County,

Jasper County Jasper County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. All are named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a hero of the Revolutionary War. Five counties share a boundary with a Newton County, named for John Newton John ...

Newton County Newton County is the name of six counties in the United States. All except for Arkansas (and perhaps Mississippi) are named for Sgt. John Newton, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War who became a fictionalized hero. Many counties share a bo ...

, Tippecanoe County, Warren County and White County. *South Bend: Cass County,

Elkhart County Elkhart County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. , the county's population was 207,047. The county seat is Goshen. Elkhart County is part of the Elkhart- Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South ...

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

Kosciusko County Kosciusko County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. At the 2020 United States Census, its population was 80,240. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Warsaw. The county was organized in 1836. It was named for the Polish ge ...

, LaPorte County, Marshall County, Miami County, Pulaski County, St. Joseph County, Starke County and Wabash County.

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

List of U.S. Attorneys since 1928

* Oliver Mullins Loomis 1928–1933 * James R. Fleming 1933–1941 *

Alexander M. Campbell Alexander Morton Campbell (1907–1968) was an Indiana lawyer who served in the United States Department of Justice as Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Criminal Division, formally from August 1948 through December 20, 1949, under Tom C. Cl ...

1941–1949 * Gilmore Haynie 1949–1953 * Joseph H. Lesh 1953–1954 * Phil M. McNagny Jr. 1954–1958 * Kenneth C. Raub 1959–1962 * Philip C. Potts 1962 * Alfred Moellering 1962–1970 *

William C. Lee Major General William Carey Lee (March 12, 1895 –June 25, 1948) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in World War I and World War II, during which he commanded the 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed the "Screaming Eagles". Lee is ...

1970–1973 * John R. Wilks 1973–1977 * David T. Ready 1977–1981 * R. Lawrence Steel Jr. 1981–1985 * James G. Richmond 1985–1991 * John F. Hoehner 1991–1993 *

Jon DeGuilio Jon Ernest DeGuilio (born 1955) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Early life and education Born in Hammond, Indiana, DeGuilio earned a Bachelor of Arts degree f ...

1993–1999 *

Joseph S. Van Bokkelen Joseph S. Van Bokkelen (born June 7, 1943) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Education and career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Van Bokkelen received a Bachelor of Ar ...

2001–2007 *

David A. Capp David A. Capp (born January 18, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana The first United States attorney to serve while Indiana was still a territory was Elijah Sparks in 1813. ...

2007–2017 *

Thomas Kirsch Thomas Lee Kirsch II (born January 25, 1974) is an American attorney and jurist who has served as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since December 2020. He was previously the United States attorney for the ...

2017–2020 * Clifford D. Johnson 2021–present

References

External links

United States District Court, Northern District of Indiana
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana Indiana, Northern District Indiana law South Bend, Indiana Fort Wayne, Indiana Hammond, Indiana Courthouses in Indiana 1928 establishments in Indiana Courts and tribunals established in 1928