James Patrick Hanlon
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and confirmed by voice vote, James Patrick Hanlon is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. He earned a law degree from Valparaiso University Law School in 1996. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1970 · age 56
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2018
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- DePauw 1992 · Valparaiso Law School 1996
- Succeeded
- William T. Lawrence
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Southern District of Indiana succeeded William T. Lawrence | Trump (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| DePauw University | B.A. | 1992 |
| Valparaiso University Law School | J.D. | 1996 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Hanlon was assigned 4,168 district-court cases (1991–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 195 days across 2,994 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 105 of Hanlon’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 87 were affirmed, 14 reversed or vacated, and 4 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed James Patrick Hanlon?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed James Patrick Hanlon to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in 2018.
- Was James Patrick Hanlon appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Patrick Hanlon was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Patrick Hanlon's confirmation vote?
- James Patrick Hanlon was confirmed by voice vote on October 11, 2018. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is James Patrick Hanlon on?
- James Patrick Hanlon is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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7 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).