--- title: "Thomas Lawson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-lawson-magistrate-grant-county-superior-court-2-in" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Thomas Lawson Grant County Superior Court #2 · Magistrate ## Profile - Court: Grant County Superior Court #2 - State: Indiana - Role: Magistrate - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-26 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## 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 ### electronic evidence presentation Scope: statewide Indiana Rule 2.17 lets a judge authorize electronic or photographic means for evidence presentation, record perpetuation, or judicial administration. Evidence excerpt: a judge may authorize: (1) the use of electronic or photographic means for the presentation of evidence [Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.17: Prohibiting Broadcasting of Proceedings](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/judicial-conduct/rule2-17/current.htm) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### photography recording Scope: statewide Indiana courtroom broadcasting, recording, digital streaming, and photography require judicial authorization under Rule 2.17. Evidence excerpt: No broadcast of a court proceeding is allowed without authorization from the judge. [Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.17: Prohibiting Broadcasting of Proceedings](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/judicial-conduct/rule2-17/current.htm) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### remote non testimonial proceedings Scope: statewide Indiana courts may conduct non-testimonial hearings or conferences remotely on request or on the court's own order. Evidence excerpt: a court may, upon request or on its own order, conduct the hearing or conference as a remote proceeding [Indiana Administrative Rule 14: Remote Proceedings](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admin/rule14/current.htm) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### remote testimonial proceedings Scope: statewide Indiana testimonial proceedings are presumptively in person unless good cause is shown or the parties agree to remote participation. Evidence excerpt: A court must conduct all testimonial proceedings in person except that a court may conduct the proceedings remotely [Indiana Administrative Rule 14: Remote Proceedings](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admin/rule14/current.htm) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### camera request process Scope: statewide Indiana's public cameras guidance states that local judicial officers have discretion to authorize news-media cameras in non-confidential trial-court proceedings. Evidence excerpt: Judicial officers around the state have the authority to allow news media into their courtrooms [Indiana Judicial Branch: Cameras in Indiana Trial Courts](https://www.in.gov/courts/cameras/) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.in.gov/dA/73fb234765/court-directory.pdf?language_id=1) - [Official roster](https://www.in.gov/dA/73fb234765/court-directory.pdf?language_id=1) - [Indiana Judicial Branch official judicial roster](https://www.in.gov/dA/73fb234765/court-directory.pdf?language_id=1) - [Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.17: Prohibiting Broadcasting of Proceedings](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/judicial-conduct/rule2-17/current.htm) - [Indiana Administrative Rule 14: Remote Proceedings](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admin/rule14/current.htm) - [Indiana Judicial Branch: Cameras in Indiana Trial Courts](https://www.in.gov/courts/cameras/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-lawson-magistrate-grant-county-superior-court-2-in", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-lawson-magistrate-grant-county-superior-court-2-in", "name": "Thomas Lawson | KnowJudges", "description": "Thomas Lawson, Grant County Superior Court #2. 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Thomas (1898–1989) was the first African American judge appointed in the American South since Reconstruction, and a pioneering civil rights attorney in Miami-Dade County - In 1950, Thomas was appointed by the City of Miami Commission as judge of the newly created Negro Municipal Court — the first Black judge in the South since Reconstruction - He broke barriers by becoming the first Black lawyer to present a case in person in Miami’s municipal court in 1937, defying a bailiff’s threat to throw him from a sixth-floor window - Remembered as a trailblazer, civil rights leader, and a judge who used the law as both “shield and sword” to advance equality - His tenure was marked by fairness, strictness, and a focus on justice for the Black community, with notable reductions in juvenile delinquency and crime in the area ### Education ### Additional information - In 2000, the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center in Downtown Miami was named in his honor. - Judge Thomas died on September 14, 1989, at age 91. - Thomas began practicing law in Jacksonville in 1934 and moved to Miami in 1935. - He was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1926 and practiced in Detroit before returning to Florida in 1928 - Studies at the then–Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Florida A&M University) in 1919, and in 1923 earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, becoming the only African American graduate that year. - Lawson Edward Thomas was born January 28, 1898 in Ocala, Florida, the first of seven sons to parents who had migrated from South Carolina. - He often worked with the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall in the fight against segregation ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.17: Prohibiting Broadcasting of Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-16334af3e92d37ecdb2fa7b0) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/judicial-conduct/rule2-17/current.htm). Collected 2026-07-26. - [Indiana Administrative Rule 14: Remote Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-fc1c3983d9effb5bdfe80b9d) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://rules.incourts.gov/Content/admin/rule14/current.htm). Collected 2026-07-26.