Tim A. Baker was appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana in 2001.  Judge Baker has held numerous leadership positions in the judiciary and in the bar.  In December 2023 Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. appointed Judge Baker to a two-year term as the Magistrate Judge Observer to the U.S. Judicial Conference.  Judge Baker also has served on the Federal Judicial Center Board, the Magistrate Judge Education Committee, the Indiana State Bar Association Board of Governors, and the Indianapolis Bar Association Board of Managers.  Judge Baker is a Life Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation, a Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation, and a two-time winner of the IBA’s Dr. John Morton Finney, Jr. Award for Excellence in Legal Education.  In 2022, Judge Baker received the Founders Award from the Federal Magistrate Judges Association.

Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Baker served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and was in private practice with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis.  Judge Baker began his legal career by serving as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney.  Judge Baker received his law degree from Valparaiso University, and received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University.