The Northern District of Indiana Federal Community Defenders, Inc. is the federal community defender program for the Northern District of Indiana. The authority to establish our organization can be found in 18 U.S.C 3006A(G) (2) (B). The organization was established in 1998 at the request of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. As a federal community defender program, the organization is a nonprofit Indiana corporation managed by an 11-member Board of Directors. Northern District of Indiana Federal Community Defenders, Inc. is funded by annual grants authorized by the Congress of the United States, and administered by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts in Washington, D.C.

We are an organization of criminal defense attorneys who represent people with limited financial means charged with federal crimes in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. We represent criminal defendants only if the court appoints us based on their financial situation. Once appointed, we work for our clients only and not for the court. Our only job is to provide clients with the best defense possible. Our defense team includes investigators, paralegals, and legal secretaries who may work with the defense attorney.

The organization's attorneys represent approximately 60-75% of indigent defendants across the Northern District of Indiana. The remaining caseload (the overflow cases and those in which a conflict of interest exists) is assigned to CJA panel attorneys who are lawyers in private practice that accept court appointed cases.

In addition to direct representation of clients in the federal trial and appellate courts, Northern District of Indiana Federal Community Defenders, Inc. serves administrative and training functions for CJA panel attorneys.

The three Divisions of the District Court for the Northern District of Indiana include the following counties: