Senior Status Coming For District Judge
A U.S. District Court judge in the Southern District of Indiana has announced he will wind down his career. District Judge William Lawrence will take senior status beginning in July. He has served as a district judge since 2008 after being elevated to the position by then-President George W. Bush. Lawrence first joined a federal bench as a magistrate judge in 2002.
Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson says "Judge Lawrence has served the citizens of the Southern District of Indiana with great dignity throughout his 35-year career in the law. The Court is grateful to him for his remarkable service as a Magistrate and District Judge. He is everything that litigants deserve to have in a judge: fair, patient, intelligent, and well-reasoned. While my fellow judges and I are sad to see Judge Lawrence begin to wind down his career, we are delighted that he will be staying on as a senior judge and continuing to serve our citizens and our Court."
Lawrence served as a Marion County Circuit Court judge from 1996 to 2002 and previously was a master commissioner for more than 13 years with the court. His career experience also includes nine years as a public defender in the Marion County Criminal Court system.
Lawrence says "it has been my honor to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. It has been an immense privilege to serve on a court whose judicial officers, without exception, endeavor each and every day to remain faithful to our oaths of office and to apply the law fairly and equally to all parties who appear before us. Despite the fact that we are laboring under a judicial emergency, and indeed currently have the second highest weighted caseload among the 94 federal judicial districts in the nation, this court continues to resolve cases as efficiently as possible while ensuring that each litigant’s position receives the attention that justice requires. This would simply not be possible without the passionate commitment of each member of the court to the bedrock principles upon which our nation was founded. I am truly blessed to be finishing my legal career among such dedicated public servants."
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts describes senior status as "essentially provid(ing) volunteer service to the courts."