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About

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana (USAO) is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the Northern District of Indiana. This includes criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits by and against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana is Clifford D. Johnson.

History

The first United States Attorney to serve while Indiana was still a territory was Elijah Sparks in 1813. His successor, William Hendricks, witnessed Indiana's admission to the Union as the 19th state in 1816. On April 21, 1928 the federal district for the State of Indiana was divided into the Northern and Southern Judicial Districts, resulting in the creation of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.

The District

District MapThe U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana is comprised of three main divisions:

Criminal - The Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office has primary responsibility for the prosecution of more than 900 federal crimes. Assistant United States Attorneys assigned to the Criminal Division principally prosecute cases in the following areas: violations of the drug laws; public corruption; white collar crime including bank fraud, mail fraud, telemarketing fraud and health care fraud; violations of federal firearms laws; environmental crimes; violent crime; bank robberies; gang crimes; child pornography; and postal crimes.

Civil - Civil Division attorneys represent the United States of America, federal agencies and, where authorized, individual federal employees in civil cases and matters filed in the federal and state courts located in the Northern District of Indiana. Major Civil Division practice areas include: Affirmative Civil Enforcement ("ACE") (suits to recover damages due to fraud and other misconduct against the United States); Bankruptcy Litigation (representing the United States and its agencies in bankruptcy proceedings filed in the District's four (4) bankruptcy courts); Foreclosure; and General Defensive Litigation (defending the United States, its agencies and/or federal employees in suits alleging employment discrimination, personal injury under the Federal Tort Claims Act and "constitutional tort" ["Bivens"] claims). The only “dedicated” sub-unit in the Civil Division is the Financial Litigation Unit ("FLU").

Appellate - The Appeals Division represents the United States Attorney's Office in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana consists of four regional offices. For more information on the three staffed sites, please follow the respective link below.

Updated July 18, 2023