Cristal Brisco

Northern District of Indiana
	Seventh Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 5
	Judges: 5
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Holly Brady
	Active judges: Holly Brady, Cristal Brisco, Damon R. Leichty, Gretchen S. Lund, Philip Simon; Senior judges:; Jon E. DeGuilio, Robert Miller, James T. Moody, Theresa Springmann, Joseph Van Bokkelen

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Cristal Brisco
	Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
Progress
	Confirmed 58 days after nomination.
	Nominated: November 27, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: December 13, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: January 18, 2023
	Confirmed: January 24, 2024
	Vote: 67-32

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Cristal Brisco is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on November 27, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 24, 2024, by a vote of 67-32.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Brisco was a judge for the St. Joseph County Superior Court in Indiana.^[4]^[5]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On November 27, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Brisco to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.^[2] Brisco received commission on January 26, 2024.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Brisco by a vote of 67-32 on January 24, 2024.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Brisco confirmation vote (January 24, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	0
Republican	16	32	1
Independent	3	0	0
Total	67^[6]	32	1

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Brisco's nomination on December 13, 2023. She was reported to the full Senate on January 18, 2023, after a 14-7 committee vote.^[7] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On November 15, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Cristal Brisco to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. On November 27, 2023, President Biden officially nominated Brisco. Brisco's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2024.^[8] The president renominated Brisco on January 8, 2024.^[2]Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Brisco well qualified.^[9] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Brisco was nominated to replace Judge Theresa Springmann, who assumed senior status on January 23, 2021.^[10]

Biography

Education

Brisco earned her bachelor's degree from Valparaiso University and her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School.^[5]

Professional career

2024-Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
2022-2024: Judge, Indiana Commercial Court
2021-2024: Judge, St. Joseph County Superior Court, Civil Division
2018-2021: Magistrate judge, Indiana Circuit Court, Sixtieth Judicial Circuit
2017-2018: General counsel
2013-2017: Corporation counsel
2006-2013: Private practice^[1]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana is one of 94 United States district courts. It was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern and United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The Northern District of Indiana has courthouses in Fort Wayne, Hammond, Lafayette and South Bend, Indiana. Decisions of the court may be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit based in Chicago, Illinois, at the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Courthouse and Building.

The Northern District of Indiana has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Fort Wayne Division, covering Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington, Jay, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells and Whitley counties.^[11]

The South Bend Division, covering Cass, Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall, Miami, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke and Wabash counties.^[11]

The Hammond Division, covering Benton, Carroll, Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties.^[11]

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 The Federal Judicial Center, "Brisco, Cristal C.," accessed January 29, 2024
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 Congress.gov, PN1242 — Cristal C. Brisco — The Judiciary," accessed January 8, 2024 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "cong2" defined multiple times with different content
↑ The White House, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 8, 2024
↑ The White House, "President Biden Names Forty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees," November 15, 2023
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 State of Indiana, "Gov. Holcomb Announces Two Judicial Appointments for Court Vacancies," June 6, 2021
↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2024," January 19, 2023
↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days.
↑ [https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/government_affairs_office/fjc-chart-118th-congress-dec-2023.pdf American Bar Association, ""STANDING COMMITTEE ONTHE FEDERAL JUDICIARY,"" accessed December 12, 2023]
↑ Todd Young, U.S. Senator for Indiana, "Young and Braun Seek Applicants for Federal Judicial Appointment," November 7, 2019
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 U.S. Marshals Service, "Northern District of Indiana," accessed May 4, 2021

Political offices
Preceded by Theresa Springmann	United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana 2024-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	St. Joseph County Superior Court -2024	Succeeded by -