INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (April 10, 2018): The Honorable Jane E. Magnus-Stinson, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, announced that a formal swearing-in ceremony for United States Magistrate Judge Doris L. Pryor will be held on Friday, April 13, 2018, at 2:00 EDT at the Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Chief Judge Magnus-Stinson will preside over the en banc ceremony in the William E. Steckler Ceremonial Courtroom (courtroom 202).
 
Judge Pryor previously served as the National Security Chief for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana from September 2014 until mid-February 2018. From August 2006 until her appointment as National Security Chief, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. From August 2005 through August 2006, Judge Pryor served as a Deputy Public Defender in the State of Arkansas Public Defender’s Commission. She also has served two terms as a law clerk, for Judge J. Leon Holmes in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (August 2004-August 2005), and for Chief Judge Lavenski Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (August 2003-August 2004).
 
Born in Hope, Arkansas, Judge Pryor graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1999 from the University of Central Arkansas, where she majored in political science. She obtained her law degree from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2003 and was admitted to the bar the same year. Judge Pryor has since been admitted to practice in numerous state and federal courts, including Indiana.
 
Judge Pryor’s caseload is drawn from the Indianapolis and Terre Haute divisions. Like the other magistrate judges in the Southern District of Indiana, she conducts various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings in civil cases on delegation from a district judge and presides over trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. After a period of recusal, she will also conduct preliminary proceedings in criminal cases and preside over trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases. Magistrate Judges are appointed by the Judges of the United States District Courts for terms of eight years, and are eligible for reappointment to successive terms.
 
The investiture ceremony is a public event, but seating is limited. Photography will be permitted during the program. If you would like to send a photographer and/or reporter to cover the ceremony, or if you have other questions, please contact Deputy Clerk Doria Lynch at 317-229-3729 or Doria_lynch@insd.uscourts.gov.
 

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (March 19, 2018): Chief Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson is pleased to announce that the Honorable William T. Lawrence has received the 2018 Silver Gavel Award from the Indianapolis Bar Association.

Judge Lawrence was sworn in as a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in June 2008. Judge Lawrence is the first district judge in the Southern District to have previously served as a magistrate judge, a position he held from November 2002 until his elevation. He recently announced his intention to assume senior status, effective July 1, 2018.

Prior to his service on the federal bench, Judge Lawrence was an elected judge of the Marion Circuit Court, after serving as a part-time Master Commissioner there for over 13 years. In 1980, Judge Lawrence was appointed Executive Director of Indiana’s first Merit Selection Commission on Federal Judicial Appointments by Senator Richard Lugar. Judge Lawrence is an Indianapolis Bar Foundation Fellow and currently serves as Master in the Sagamore American Inn. Judge Lawrence graduated from Indiana University and Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
 

His nomination for the Silver Gavel Award referred to Judge Lawrence’s long and exemplary service in the law and on the bench: "Judge Lawrence has had stellar careers as a lawyer, state court judge and on the federal bench. He's respected in the legal community and is recognized as a judge who treats lawyers, and their clients, well. He never forgot what it is like to be on the other side of the bench."

The Court congratulates Judge Lawrence on this award and thanks him for his continued service to the citizens of the Southern District of Indiana.

The current term of office of United States Magistrate Judge Mark J. Dinsmore at Indianapolis, Indiana, is due to expire on December 16, 2018.   Comments from members of the bar and the public are invited as to whether the incumbent magistrate judge should be recommended by the panel for reappointment by the court.  Please see the Public Notice linked below for more information.

  Public Notice for Reappointment of Incumbent Magistrate Judge

Certain amendments to the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana will take effect on January 1, 2018.  Please see the attached Public Notice for those amendments.

  Public Notice Re: Amendments to Local Rules