Theresa Springmann
| Theresa Springmann | |
| Current Court Information: | |
| United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana | |
| Title: | Judge |
| Position: | Seat #1 |
| Service: | |
| Appointed by: | George W. Bush |
| Active: | 6/24/2003 - Present |
| Preceded by: | James T. Moody |
| Past post: | Magistrate Judge |
| Past term: | 1995 - 2003 |
| Personal History | |
| Born: | 1956 |
| Home State: | Gary, IN |
| Bachelors: | Indiana U., B.A., 1977 |
| Law School: | U. of Notre Dame, J.D., 1980 |
Contents |
Theresa Lazar Springmann is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. She joined the court in 2003 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
Early life and education
Born in Gary, Indiana, Springmann graduated from Indiana University with her Bachelor's in 1977, and obtained her Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School in 1980. [1]
Professional career
Springmann was a law clerk for Senior Judge James T. Moody in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana]] from 1980 to 1983. From 1984 to 1995, Springmann was a private practice attorney in the State of Indiana. [1]
Judicial career
Northern District of Indiana
On the recommendation of Senator Dick Lugar, Springmann was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana by President George W. Bush on January 29, 2003, to a seat vacated by James T. Moody. Springmann was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 31, 2003 on a Senate vote and received commission on June 24, 2003. [2]
Notable cases
A notable case on this page needs to be updated.
In May of 1997, a John M. Stephenson received a guilty verdict and death sentence for killing three people in Warrick County, Indiana. He appealed his case to the Indiana Supreme Court on the basis of "ineffective counsel" because his attorney didn't object to him wearing a prisoner control device (a stun belt) in front of the jury that convicted him. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected his appeal.
After the Indiana Supreme Court rejected Stephenson's appeal, he took it to the federal level, where Judge Springmann overturned his guilty sentence and the death penalty in a 26-page ruling. She noted, "Due process mandates that John M. Stephenson is entitled to what he was denied: a trial without restraints".
The Indiana Attorney General, Greg Zoeller, said that he will appeal her order, either by asking her to reconsider or by taking it to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. "The federal court's ruling this week is disappointing since we believe the Indiana Supreme Court ruled correctly when it denied Stephenson's petition for post-conviction relief on this very issue in April 2007," Zoeller said in a statement. [3]
See also
External links
References
| Federal judicial offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: James T. Moody |
Northern District of Indiana 2003–Current Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: NA |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Philip Simon • Robert Miller • Theresa Springmann • Joseph Van Bokkelen • Jon E. DeGuilio | ||
| Senior judges | |||
| Magistrate judges | Roger Cosbey • Paul Cherry • Christopher Nuechterlein • John E. Martin (Indiana) • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Allen Sharp • Michael Kanne • Jesse Eschbach • Thomas Whitten Slick • George Beamer • Robert Grant • Phil McNagny • William Parkinson • Luther Swygert • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Robert Miller • Allen Sharp • William Lee • Jesse Eschbach • George Beamer • Robert Grant • Luther Swygert • | ||
