---
title: "Mark J. Dinsmore | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-j-dinsmore-indiana-us-magistrate"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Mark J. Dinsmore

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana · U.S. Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
- State: Indiana
- Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-29

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Before joining the judiciary, Judge Dinsmore practiced law at Barnes & Thornburg LLP since 1996
- Magistrate Judge Dinsmore joined the bench on December 17, 2010, filling a vacancy created when Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson was elevated to the U.S. District Court
- Law Clerk, U.S. District Court - Southern District of Indiana (to John Daniel Tinder)
- He also held the role of law clerk to Judge John Daniel Tinder of the Southern District of Indiana

### Education

- Wabash College — Economics — B.A. (1983)

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, S.D. Indiana, 2010-present
- Practitioner, Barnes & Thornburg, 1996–2010-12
- J.D. — Univ. of Toledo — 1994
- Captain, U.S. Army
- Notably, he represented the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in an arbitration arising from the Dayton Accords.
- focusing on complex commercial disputes, construction litigation, and international/domestic arbitrations.
- Served in federal court for over a decade before becoming a magistrate judge
- He serves in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, with his office in Indianapolis (Room 277, Courtroom 270).

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### civil remote testimony

Scope: courtwide

In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.

Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.

[Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### criminal recording and broadcasting

Scope: courtwide

Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.

Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.

[Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=70)
- [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=70)
- [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=70)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9249/mark-j-dinsmore/)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9249/mark-j-dinsmore/)
- [BR/MAG Judge Database: Mark John Dinsmore](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9249/mark-j-dinsmore/)
- [BR/MAG Judge Database: Mark John Dinsmore](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json)

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## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
- [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
