Mario Garcia Selected as New Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana

PRESS RELEASE 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (December 4, 2020): The Honorable Jane E. Magnus-Stinson, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, announced today the selection of Mario Garcia for the position of United States Magistrate Judge. Mr. Garcia will fill a new magistrate judgeship created for the Southern District of Indiana by the Judicial Conference of the United States. He will be the first judge of Hispanic heritage to serve the Southern District of Indiana.

A Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Committee chaired by Andrew Klein, professor and former Dean at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, reviewed 31 applications and recommended five candidates for the position. The District Judges of the court interviewed the five candidates and selected Mr. Garcia.

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Mr. Garcia is a 1995 graduate of Ball State University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice and criminology. He studied law at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis, where he graduated in 1999. While in law school, Mr. Garcia was awarded the Cale J. Holder Scholarship and F. Emerson Boyd Scholarship. He was also a member of the Order of the Barristers and the Hispanic Law Society.

Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Garcia joined the law firm of what has become Brattain Minnix Garcia. He became a partner in the firm in 2008 and has since risen to the position of Managing Member. Mr. Garcia is a registered civil mediator as well. He has extensive courtroom experience in both civil and criminal law, appearing in more than 500 hearings in Indiana's federal and state courts in the last five years. He was also selected by the Indiana Federal Community Defender’s Office to lead the response to pro se compassionate release filings under the First Step Act. Mr. Garcia is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Garcia is a member of the Southern District of Indiana's Criminal Justice Act panel, through which he represents indigent clients. He has also provided pro bono services for 10 years to participants in the District Court's Re-Entry and Community Help (REACH) Program, which helps individuals re-entering society after incarceration obtain access to housing, employment, and public assistance programs.

Mr. Garcia serves on the United States Sentencing Commission’s Practitioner’s Advisory Group as the Seventh Circuit Representative and is on the District Court’s Local Rules Advisory Committee for the Southern District of Indiana. He volunteers throughout the greater community, including for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Indiana Chapter.  He served as a Trustee and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Orchard School and Member of the Board of Directors for La Plaza, Inc. (formerly The Hispanic Center, Inc., where he served as Board Chairman).  He also served as Chairman of the Board for the Indiana Federal Community Defenders, Inc.    

Regarding the selection, Chief Judge Magnus-Stinson commented, "Mario Garcia has long served our Court, and my colleagues and I know his work product well. He is the ideal Magistrate Judge candidate, with a breadth of experience in both criminal and civil litigation. He has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to the ideal of equal justice under law and has served his clients and the Court with integrity, a tireless work ethic and compassion. The entire Court family is most excited to welcome him."

United States Magistrate Judges are appointed by the Judges of the U.S. District Court for a term of eight years and are eligible for reappointment to successive terms. Magistrate Judges preside over many pretrial proceedings in both civil and criminal cases in federal court. A critical component of the position is conducting mediation and settlement proceedings in civil cases, helping parties settle their disputes by agreement. Mr. Garcia's appointment will be effective no earlier than April 1, 2021, upon completion of required IRS and FBI background investigations.

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