U.S. Senate confirms ND Law School alumna Cristal Brisco as federal judge

The U.S. Senate, on Wednesday (Jan. 24), confirmed Notre Dame Law School alumna Cristal Brisco '06 J.D. as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. She will be the first Black woman to serve as a judge on that court.

“We extend our congratulations to Judge Brisco on her confirmation to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana,” said G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School. “Our Notre Dame Law School community is immensely proud of her, and we know she will be an exemplary judge.”

Governor Eric Holcomb appointed Brisco as a St. Joseph County Superior Court in South Bend in 2021. She previously worked as a St. Joseph County magistrate judge, as the general counsel for St. Mary's College, as corporation counsel for the city of South Bend, and as an associate at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

Brisco earned her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School in 2006. She has served on the Notre Dame Law Association Board for eight years, first as an affinity representative for Black law school alumni and currently as a member of the board's Executive Advisory Committee.

President Joe Biden nominated Brisco in November to fill a vacant seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, a jurisdiction that covers the courts in South Bend, Fort Wayne, Hammond, and Lafayette.