Mario Garcia selected US Magistrate Judge for Indiana’s Southern District

Indianapolis, Indiana – Honorable Jane E. Magnus-Stinson, Chief Judge for the District Court of the Southern District of Indiana, announced the selection of Mario Garcia for U.S. 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 Hispanic judge to serve the Southern District of Indiana.

Following graduation from law school, Mr. Garcia joined the law firm of Brattain Minnix, which became Brattain Minnix Garcia in 2008 when he became a partner and is currently a Managing Member. He has appeared in more than 500 civil and criminal hearings in Indiana’s federal and state courts in the past five years. Mr. Garcia is also a registered civil mediator; and was 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 U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, 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.

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.