Pryor Assumes Duties as U.S. Magistrate Judge
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDoris Pryor has assumed her duties as United States Magistrate Judge. Judge Pryor fills the vacancy created by the untimely death of Magistrate Judge Denise K. LaRue, who passed away on August 2, 2017. Judge Pryor previously served as national security chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and served in that role from September 2014 until last month. From August 2006 until her appointment as national security chief, she served as an assistant U.S. 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 is active in Indiana’s legal community. She is currently serving as program chair for the Indianapolis branch of the Federal Bar Association and has previously served as secretary and newsletter chair of that organization. Judge Pryor is active in a number of other bar associations and chaired the Indianapolis Bar Association Diversity Job Fair’s Student Workshop in 2016 and 2017. Judge Pryor was also instrumental in the development and growth of the Southern District of Indiana’s Re-entry And Community Help (REACH) federal re-entry courts, which give formerly incarcerated individuals access to resources, law enforcement officials, community leaders, and other experts to help the returning citizens transition successfully back into the community.
Judge Pryor also serves her community as a board member of Goodwill Education Initiatives Inc., and as Young Adult Ministry co-director for the Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. She is also passionate about the Just the Beginning Foundation, which is committed to developing and nurturing interest in the law among young persons from various socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds underrepresented in the legal profession.
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.