Judge Bradford Receives Professionalism Award for the Seventh Circuit
09/25/2025
Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Cale Bradford, J.D. ’86, has been honored with the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Seventh Circuit. He received the honor at an event during the Seventh Circuit Bench Bar Conference in Chicago. Marion Superior Court Judge Timothy Oakes, J.D. ’91, introduced Bradford and presented him with the award.
"I am delighted that Cale Bradford is being recognized in this significant way," said Professor Frank Sullivan Jr., a former justice on the Indiana Supreme Court, who received this award in 2017. "This is an honor bestowed upon only a few lawyers and judges across the country, and includes with it a recognition ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court. Cale Bradford and I first began working together when he was the head of the Executive Committee of the Marion Superior Court and we were working together to improve court technology. I was impressed then not only by his work on our specific project but the extremely effective way in which he discharged his executive responsibilities with respect to our state's biggest and most complicated trial court system. He kept the trains running on time; kept morale high; and was always respectful of others. It was no surprise to me that following his appointment to the Court of Appeals, his colleagues there elected him their Chief Judge as well. His tenure in that position can be characterized in similar terms. Finally, he has been a great friend to the McKinney Law school, serving in a variety of alumni leadership positions and hiring our graduates as his law clerks."
Judge Bradford was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2007 and selected by his colleagues to serve as chief judge from 2020 to 2022. Prior to his elevation to the appellate court, he served for more than 10 years as judge of the Marion Superior Court, seven years in the criminal division and three in the civil division. He was twice elected presiding judge by his colleagues.
During this tenure, Judge Bradford chaired the Marion County Criminal Justice Planning Council, a group of local elected and appointed officials who recommended ways to improve the county’s response to criminal justice problems, including jail overcrowding, staffing, and budget issues. His efforts led to the end of 30 years of federal oversight of the Marion County Jail and to security improvements at the county’s Juvenile Detention Center.
Before joining the bench, Judge Bradford served in the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office for two years, overseeing a staff of more than 100 attorneys. For five years, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, prosecuting major felony drug trafficking cases. He engaged in the private practice of law from 1986 to 1991 and served as both a deputy prosecutor and public defender during his career.
A native of Indianapolis, Judge Bradford received a B.A. in labor relations and personnel management from Indiana University-Bloomington in 1982 and his J.D. from the McKinney School of Law-Indianapolis in 1986. He has served as the Court of Appeals' liaison to the Indiana Judges Criminal Instructions Committee, which provides guidance to judges on jury instructions in criminal cases and is a former member of both the Indiana Judges Criminal Policy and Criminal Instructions Committees and the Board of Directors of the Indiana State Judicial Conference.
Judge Bradford is a Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Association and teaches at various seminars on a variety of legal topics. From 2005 to 2007, Judge Bradford hosted “Off the Bench with Judge Cale Bradford,” a legal commentary program on Marion County’s government access network. He also served on the Judicial Technology and Automation Committee (JTAC), helping to draft the state judiciary’s policies on technology and electronic case management. Judge Bradford has also served over ten years as an adjunct instructor in forensic science and the law at Indiana University’s Indianapolis campus.
In the photo, from left, are Sam Bradford, Judge Bradford, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Diana Sykes.
