The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana welcomed James R. Sweeney as its newest member of the bench on September 24, 2018. Chief Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson administered the oath of office in front of Judge Sweeney's family, friends, and colleagues. Please see the Press Release for further information. 

On Friday, October 5, 2018, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and the Indiana State Bar Association Latino Affairs Committee will welcome Dr. Adi G. Martínez Román, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Access to Justice Fund Foundation as the keynote speaker at their second annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana will host the event at 2:00 pm in the Sarah Evans Barker Courtroom (courtroom 216) at the Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 46 East Ohio Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Martínez Román will speak about the challenges presented by Hurricane Maria and ways in which the legal community was able to provide relief.

Please see the Press Release for full details and registration information. 

Bankruptcy Judge Basil Lorch, III, is retiring soon.  The Seventh Circuit seeks candidates for his replacment.  For more information, please read the announcement linked below.

  Notice Re: Bankruptcy Judge Position

The Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is excited to announce that its documentary film And Justice for All: Indiana’s Federal Courts has been nominated for two Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Lower Great Lakes Region.
 

The film is nominated in the Documentary – Historical, and Musical Composition/Arrangement. Winners will be announced at the 49th Annual Emmy Awards ceremony on Saturday, June 23, 2018.
 

The film can be viewed in its entirety online; DVD copies are also available free of charge to educators (while supplies last) by contacting Doria Lynch at Doria_Lynch@insd.uscourts.gov. A classroom version of the film and a Teacher’s Guide are also available and provide in-class and take-home activities relating to the film.
 

In addition to providing an overview of the history of Indiana’s federal courts, the film portrays the events surrounding three cases of historical significance:

• Ex parte Milligan, in which Indiana’s federal court played a role in answering the Constitutional question of whether civilians are eligible for prosecution by a military tribunal when civilian courts are open. This Civil War-era case made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States.
   

• United States v. Ryan, et al., a case involving members of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers who were prosecuted for their roles in allegedly having conspired to bomb their way to the bargaining table, resulting in the deaths of 21 people at the The Los Angeles Times and thousands of dollars in property damage. The 1912 conspiracy trial lasted three months and brought international media attention to Indianapolis.
   
• United States v. Board of School Commissioners of the City of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Public Schools desegregation case that began in 1968 and continued until 2016, when the busing order of Judge S. Hugh Dillin finally expired.

The film was produced by Gudaitis Production, a documentary and educational film production company, led by David Gudaitis, Ph.D., Alan Backler, Ph.D., and Larry Laswell, M.A.
 

The film was made possible by the contributions of members and sponsors of the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, an Indiana Historical Society Heritage Support Grant made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc., the Indiana Bar Foundation, and the R. B. Annis Educational Foundation.