Danielle Gaughan

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Judge Danielle Gaughan was elected for retention in November 2024. She was recommended to continue to serve on the Marion Superior Court bench by:

• Marion County Judicial Selection Committee
• Indianapolis Bar Association

Biography and Photo Courtesy of Judge Danielle Gaughan.

Judge Danielle Gaughan was appointed to the Marion Superior Court on February 3, 2022, by Governor Eric J. Holcomb, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Hon. Mark A Jones.  In February of 2024 Judge Gaughan was assigned to Marion Superior Court 17, a Level 6 Felony and Misdemeanor Court.   At the time of her appointment in 2022, Judge Gaughan was assigned to the Family Division and presided over juvenile, domestic relations, and child welfare matters, and reduced the caseload in her court by over 50 percent.  Prior to the creation of the Family Division in 2021, Judge Gaughan was assigned as a magistrate in 2007 to the Juvenile Court, located at 25th and Keystone, and presided over child in need of services cases and termination of parental rights cases.   Judge Gaughan was also a commissioner in the Domestic Violence Courts from 2002 through 2007.  

Before her service as a judicial officer, Judge Gaughan was a Public Defender with the Marion County Public Defender Agency for 11 years.  She started that position as a staff attorney for the agency and then became the supervisor of the lower felony, misdemeanor, and domestic violence division.  As the supervisor, she was responsible for hiring and training entry level attorneys.  The division consisted of approximately 36 lawyers and support staff.

Judge Gaughan is member of the Indianapolis Bar Association, the Marion County Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association, and the Indiana Judges Association.  For the last several years, Judge Gaughan has conducted character and fitness interviews for the Indiana State Board of Law Examiners.  Judge Gaughan was recently appointed to the Domestic Violence Committee by the Indiana Supreme Court, having previously served on the Protective Order Committee.

Born in New York, Judge Gaughan came to Indiana to attend college at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and has made Indiana her home.  After graduation from college, she attended Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and graduated in 1984.