Southern District promotes new clerk from within

The US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has found a successor to its long-serving clerk, turning to a longtime servant of the court who currently works as its death penalty law clerk. The new clerk will take over in four months, the court announced Monday.

Roger A.G. Sharpe will succeed retiring clerk Laura Briggs effective May 10, Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson said in a press release. “Roger attended law school with a career in public service as his goal — and the clerk position fulfills that goal. The court is confident that his dedication to our mission and to the success of our judges and staff, his commitment to excellence on matters large and small, and his principled way of demonstrating kindness and compassion towards all people — colleagues and those outside the court — will serve him and the court well.”

Sharpe joined the Southern District court in September 2013 after previously serving as attorney to the clerk, staff attorney and law clerk to Magnus-Stinson. Before coming to the Southern District of Indiana, Sharpe was as a law clerk to Judge Sidney Fitzwater of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas from August 2011-August 2012, followed by a yearlong clerkship with Judge Jerome Holmes of the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Oklahoma City.

“I am honored to have been selected as the Southern District of Indiana’s next clerk,” Sharpe said. “I will do my very best to fill the extraordinarily large shoes that Laura Briggs is leaving behind and look forward to serving the judges, staff, and public in my new role.”

The clerk reports to the chief judge, leading an office of some 75 employees who provide a wide variety of services to members of the court community and the public at large. Sharpe’s responsibilities will include managing the court’s budget, information technology, space and facilities, and the staff responsible for docketing and processing civil and criminal cases, jury services and courtroom operations. 

A native of Springfield, Illinois, Sharpe is a graduate of Rice University and received his Juris Doctorate, with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School. He and his family live in Indianapolis.