News Archive

Mario Garcia, ’99, will become the first person of Hispanic heritage to serve as a Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson, ’83, Chief Judge, made the announcement December 4. The new magistrate judgeship was created by the Judicial Conference of the United States.

While in law school at IU McKinney, Garcia was awarded the Cale J. Holder Scholarship and the F. Emerson Boyd Scholarship. He also was a member of the Order of the Barristers and the Hispanic Law Society. The Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Committee which chose Garcia for the post was chaired by Professor Andrew R. Klein, former dean at IU McKinney.

After completing his legal education, Garcia joined the law firm now known as Brattain Minnix Garcia, where he became a partner in 2008 and is now Managing Member. He is a registered civil mediator and 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 chosen by the Indiana Federal Community Defender’s Office to lead the response to the pro se compassionate release filings under the First Step Act. He is a member of the Southern District’s Criminal Justice Act panel, through which he represents indigent clients. He also has provided pro bono services for over 10 years to participants in the District Court’s Re-Entry and Community Help (REACH) Program.

Garcia serves on the United States Sentencing Commission’s Practitioner’s Advisory Group and the Seventh Circuit Representative and is on the District Court’s Local Rules Advisory Committee for the Southern District of Indiana.

Garcia 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.

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. Garcia's appointment will be effective no earlier than April 1, 2021, upon completion of required IRS and FBI background investigations.