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The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is one of 94 United States district courts. It was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts. The district has courthouses in Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Evenasville, and New Albany, Indiana. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit based in Chicago, Illinois, at the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Courthouse and Building. VacanciesSee also: Current federal judicial vacanciesThere are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, out of the court's five judicial positions. Pending nominationsThere are no pending nominees for this court. Active judgesArticle III judges
Active Article III judges by appointing political partyThe list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.
Senior judges
Senior judges by appointing political partyThe list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.
Magistrate judgesFederal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]
Former chief judgesIn order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2] In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5] The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5] Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5] On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the President of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]
Former judgesFor more information about the judges of the Southern District of Indiana, see former federal judges of the Southern District of Indiana. JurisdictionThe Counties of the Southern District of Indiana (click for larger map) The Southern District of Indiana has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. There are four court divisions, each covering the following counties: The Indianapolis Division, covering Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Clinton, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Fountain, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Tipton, Union and Wayne counties.[7] The Terre Haute Division, covering Clay, Greene, Knox, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties.[7] The Evansville Division, covering Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Martin, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties.[7] The New Albany Division, covering Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Lawrence, Ohio, Orange, Ripley, Scott, Switzerland and Washington counties.[7] CaseloadsThis section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in May 2021. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.
HistoryIndiana was established as one judicial district by Congress on March 3, 1817 with one post to cover the entire state. This district court was not assigned to a judicial circuit and was therefore granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts, excluding appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court. On March 3, 1837, Statute 5 Stat. 176 allowed Congress to repeal the circuit court jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Indiana, and then assigned the district over to the Seventh Circuit. Congress again re-organized the circuits on January 28, 1863, and assigned the District of Indiana to the Eighth Circuit, and then again over to the Seventh Circuit on July 23, 1866. Statute 45 Stat. 437 on April 21, 1928 divided the District of Indiana into two judicial districts known as the Northern District of Indiana and the Southern District of Indiana. A judgeship was assigned to each new district. Over time 4 additional judicial posts were added for a total of 5 current posts.[8] Judicial postsThe following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Southern District of Indiana:[8]
Noteworthy casesFor a searchable list of opinions, please see Justia.com-Dockets and Filings-Southern District of Indiana.
Noteworthy eventsFederal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that two judgeships be added to the district.[15] Based on FJC data, the district handled 1,009 weighted filings per judgeship from September 2017 to September 2018. Weighted filings are a specific metric used by the federal judiciary that accounts for the different amounts of time judges require to resolve types of civil and criminal cases. The national average in that period for weighted filings per judgeship was 513.[16] The FJC is the policy-making body for the United States federal courts system. It was first organized as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1922.[17] The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States serves as chair of the conference. The members of the conference are the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.[18] Federal courthouseFour separate courthouses serve the Southern District of Indiana: the Birch Bayh Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse in Indianapolis, the U.S. Courthouse in Terre Haute, the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse in Evansville, and the Lee H. Hamilton Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse in New Albany.[19] About United States District CourtsThe United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity. There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one. There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life. There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[20][21] The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time. In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[22] Appointments by presidentThe chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through October 1 of the second year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Clinton had the most district court appointments with 83. Judges by districtSee also: Judicial vacancies in federal courtsThe table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday. Judicial selectionThe district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[21]
Magistrate judgesThe district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[23] See also
External links
Footnotes
Why would I get a letter from United States District Court?In a broader sense, U.S. Attorney's Offices issue target letters when they believe that they have sufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges in federal district court.
What is the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis?
How do I look up court cases in Indiana?First, start by searching mycase.in.gov. Some types of court documents and filings are available there at no cost. If the document you're looking for isn't available online, you'll need to contact the clerk's office in the county where the case is being heard.
What circuit is the Southern District of Indiana?Appeals from the court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The Southern District of Indiana is one of 94 judicial districts in the federal court system. Learn more...
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