The United States District Court for the Southern 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, S.D. Ind.) is a federal district court in

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 ...

. It 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

into two separate districts,

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

and southern. The Southern District is divided into four divisions,

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, and New Albany. Appeals from the Southern District of Indiana 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 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 five judges, four full-time

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...

s 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 .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 Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

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 Southern District

Indianapolis: Bartholomew County, Boone County, Brown County,

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York **Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...

Decatur County Decatur County is the name of various past and present counties in the United States, all named for Stephen Decatur: *Decatur County, Georgia *Decatur County, Indiana *Decatur County, Iowa *Decatur County, Kansas *Decatur County, Tennessee *Decatur ...

, Delaware County, Fayette County, Fountain County, Franklin County, Hamilton County, Hancock County,

Hendricks County Hendricks County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 145,448. The county seat is the town of Danville. Hendricks County is the third largest county in the Indianapolis- Carmel- An ...

, Henry County, Howard County, Johnson County, Madison County, Marion County,

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: *Monroe County, Alabama * Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida *Monroe County, Georgia * Monroe County, Illinois * Monroe County, Indi ...

, Montgomery County, Morgan County, Randolph County, Rush County, Shelby County, Tipton County, Union County and Wayne County. Terre Haute:

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flo ...

, Greene County, Knox County, Owen County, Parke County, Putnam County, Sullivan County, Vermillion County and

Vigo County Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, ...

. Evansville: Daviess County, Dubois County, Gibson County, Martin County,

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States * Perry County, Alabama * Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois * Perry County, Indiana * Perry County, Kentucky * Perry County, Mississippi * Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perr ...

, Pike County, Posey County, Spencer County, Vanderburgh County and Warrick County. New Albany: Clark County,

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford Count ...

Dearborn County Dearborn County is one of 92 counties of the U.S. state of Indiana located on the Ohio border near the southeast corner of the state. It was formed in 1803 from a portion of Hamilton County, Ohio. In 2020, the population was 50,679. The count ...

, 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

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

List of U.S. Attorneys since 1929

References

External links

United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana

United States Attorney, Southern District of Indiana
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Indiana, Southern District Indiana law Terre Haute, Indiana Evansville, Indiana New Albany, Indiana Indianapolis 1928 establishments in Indiana Courthouses in Indiana Courts and tribunals established in 1928