The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (in

case citation Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case c ...

s, 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 ...

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

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

, Fort Wayne, and Hammond (which has a sub-office in

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

). Appeals from this court are taken to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of ...

(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 ...

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the

Tucker Act The Tucker Act (March 3, 1887, ch. 359, , ) is a federal statute of the United States by which the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits. The Tucker Act may be divided into the "Big" Tucker A ...

, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit). 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 The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

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 District was subdivided into Northern and Southern 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,

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant C ...

, Huntington County, Jay County, LaGrange County, Noble County, Steuben County, Wells County, and Whitley County. *Hammond: Lake County and

Porter County Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...

. *Lafayette: Benton County, Carroll County, Jasper County, Newton County,

Tippecanoe County Tippecanoe may refer to several places or things in the United States: * The 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana * A nickname for William Henry Harrison (U.S. President March 1841–April 1841) from his role in the battle ** Tippecanoe and Tyler t ...

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

and White County. *South Bend: Cass County, Elkhart County,

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 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 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 1993–1999 * Joseph S. Van Bokkelen 2001–2007 * David A. Capp 2007–2017 * Thomas Kirsch 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