Biography of Honorable David J. Dreyer

Judge David J. Dreyer was elected to the Marion Superior Court (Indianapolis, IN), and took the oath of office on December 31, 1996. At that time, he was an Indianapolis attorney with over 16 years experience in civil, criminal, and governmental areas. After attending Cathedral High School downtown, Judge Dreyer won a Hoosier Scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame where he attained both a Bachelor of Arts degree (1977), and law degree (1980). In 1979, he was one of only 8 students statewide to receive the first Indiana Bar Foundation Scholarship. In 1980, he was awarded the Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship and began working in public service on behalf of low‑income citizens, including Social Security recipients, the disabled, and children. In 1986, he joined the Bayh, Tabbert & Capehart law firm and began practicing in general litigation. In 1991, he was appointed as Chief Counsel to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office under Jeff Modisett, where he handled the Mike Tyson case, complex grand jury investigations, and obtained the only conviction in the Firstmark securities fraud case. In 1995 and 1996, he served as Special Counsel to the State of Indiana and worked in private practice. He has served as adjunct professor at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis for five years, teaching Trial Practice. The National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) requested that Judge Dreyer serve on their faculty in 2000. He currently serves on the associate faculty of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University/Purdue University – Indianapolis. In 2003 and 2006, he received SPEA’s Associate Faculty of the Year award for excellence in teaching.

Judge Dreyer has also been a community leader during his entire professional career. He is a founding member of Child Advocates, Inc., and the Lawyer's Network for Children, and has served on the boards of People's Health Center, Catholic Social Services (where he was President and "Board Member of the Year"), and the Butler-Tarkington Neighborhood Association. He served on the Board of Directors of Rotary Club of Indianapolis, the Board of Directors for the Notre Dame Club of Indianapolis as well as being active in the Indianapolis Bar Association, Indiana State Bar Association, and American Bar Association. He was appointed by Governor Bayh to the Indiana Commission for Community Service in 1993. He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Bayh in January, 1997.

In 1998, he was appointed by the Indiana Supreme Court as Chair of the Heartland Pro Bono Council. The Indiana Bar Foundation awarded its Pro Bono Publico Award to Judge Dreyer for 2002. He received the Randall T. Shepard Award from the Indiana Pro Bono Commission in 2004. Judge Dreyer received a 92% approval rating in a 2008 Indianapolis Bar Association survey of local attorneys and was re-elected to his third term on the Marion Superior Court.

Judge Dreyer and his wife, Susan, have been married 24 years, and have a 17-year-old daughter, Hannah. They are members of St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

--Updated February 2009