WriteTheUS

District Court · Seventh Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

The federal trial court. Juries sit here, evidence is heard here, and almost every federal case begins here.

The bench

Who sits on this court?

Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.

Judges currently in service
JudgeSinceNominated bySeat
James Tyne Moody Senior1982Ronald ReaganINND0104
Robert Lowell Miller Jr. Senior1985Ronald ReaganINND0501
Philip P. Simon2003George W. BushINND0402
Theresa Lazar Springmann Senior2003George W. BushINND0105
Joseph S. Van Bokkelen Senior2007George W. BushINND0305
Jon Ernest DeGuilio Senior2010Barack ObamaINND0204
Holly Ann Brady2019Donald J. TrumpINND0306
Damon Ray Leichty2019Donald J. TrumpINND0502
Cristal C. Brisco2024Joseph R. BidenINND0106
Gretchen Suzanne Lund2024Joseph R. BidenINND0205

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)

What seats does this court have?

Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.

Judges seated now
10
Seat numbers on record
21
Seats with a sitting judge
SeatHeld bySinceHolders to date
INND0104James Tyne Moody19821
INND0105Theresa Lazar Springmann20031
INND0106Cristal C. Brisco20241
INND0204Jon Ernest DeGuilio20101
INND0205Gretchen Suzanne Lund20241
INND0305Joseph S. Van Bokkelen20071
INND0306Holly Ann Brady20191
INND0402Philip P. Simon20031
INND0501Robert Lowell Miller Jr.19851
INND0502Damon Ray Leichty20191
11 seat numbers with no sitting judge

These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.

SeatLast held byUntilHolders
INND0101Thomas Whitten Slick19431
INND0102Luther Merritt Swygert19611
INND0103Jesse Ernest Eschbach19811
INND0201William Lynn Parkinson19571
INND0202Robert Allen Grant19981
INND0203Allen Sharp20091
INND0301George N. Beamer19741
INND0302Phil McClellan McNagny Jr.19811
INND0303Michael Stephen Kanne19871
INND0304Rodolfo Lozano20181
INND0401William Charles Lee20241

This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.

Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)

How this bench was built

Who appointed them?

The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.

Republican
7
Democratic
3
Sitting judges by appointing president
PresidentJudges
George W. Bush3
Donald J. Trump2
Joseph R. Biden2
Ronald Reagan2
Barack Obama1

The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)