Indira Talwani

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Indira Talwani
	Court: District of Massachusetts
Progress
	Confirmed 226 days after nomination.
	Nominated: September 24, 2013
	ABA Rating: Unanimous Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: January 8, 2014
	QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: February 6, 2014
	Confirmed: May 8, 2014
	Vote: 94-0

Indira Talwani is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Prior to joining the court, she was a partner at Segal Roitman LLP. She was nominated by President Barack Obama to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on September 24, 2013.^[1] The United States Senate confirmed Talwani on May 8, 2014, by a vote of 94-0.^[2]

Education

Talwani earned her B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University in 1982 and her J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley in 1988.^[1]

Professional career

1999-2014: Segal Roitman LLP

2003-2014: Partner
1999-2002: Of counsel

1989-1999: Attorney, Altshuler Berzon LLP

1996-1999: Partner
1989-1996: Associate

1988-1989: Law clerk, Hon. Stanley Weigel, United States District Court for the Northern District of California
1987-1988: Law clerk, Neyhart, Anderson, Nussbaum, Reilly and Freitas
1986-1987: Law clerk, Mocine & Eggleston^[3]

Judicial career

District of Massachusetts

On September 24, 2013, Indira Talwani was nominated by President Barack Obama to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The seat was vacated by Mark Wolf, who took senior status on January 1, 2013.^[4] The President had this to say about the nomination,

“

These individuals have demonstrated the talent, expertise, and fair-mindedness Americans expect and deserve from their judicial system... I am grateful for their willingness to serve and confident that they will apply the law with the utmost impartiality and integrity.^[1]^[5]

”

Talwani was rated Unanimously Qualified by the American Bar Association.^[6]

Talwani's nomination was returned by the Senate on January 3, 2014, and she was renominated on January 6th by President Obama.^[7] She had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 8, 2014.^[8]

Indira Talwani's nomination was reported to the full U.S. Senate after a voice vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee.^[9] Talwani was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 8, 2014, by a vote of 94-0.^[2]

Reactions to the nomination

Senator Elizabeth Warren had this to say about the nomination:

“

I was very pleased to recommend Mark G. Mastroianni and Indira Talwani to the President for nomination to District Court vacancies in Springfield and Boston... Both nominees, who were recommended by the Advisory Committee on Massachusetts Judicial Nominations, are talented and highly respected practitioners with diverse professional backgrounds, strong ties to the community, and impressive legal careers.^[10]^[5]

”

The president of the North American South Asian Bar Association, Nadeem Bezar, said this about the nomination:

“

Indi is a committed attorney with an exceptional record. She is admired by her peers. We are extremely excited that another deserving South Asian has been nominated to the judiciary.^[11]^[5]

”

Reactions to confirmation

“	Ms. Talwani has an impressive track record as a litigator, having represented clients in matters before the Massachusetts state trial courts and appeals courts as well as the district court to which she's been nominated, the federal courts of appeals and the United States Supreme Court. ^[5]	”
—Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), ^[12]

Awards and associations

Awards

2012, 2013: Selected for inclusion in The best Lawyers in America for Employment Law - Individuals for 2013 and 2014
2012, 2013: Selected for inclusion in Massachusetts Super Lawyers
2012: Chinese Progressive Association, Workers Justice Award
2010: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Leaders in the Law, Lawyer of the Year
2000-2013: Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review AV rated
1988: Order of the Coif, University of California, Berkeley
1986-1987: Cowell Labor Fellowship

Associations

2009-2013: Burr Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization
2009-2010: Auburndale Community Library
2006-2008: Day Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization
2004-2012: Newton North High School Parent-Teacher Organization
2001-2004: Day Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization
2000-2006: Burr Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization
2000-2006: Penguin Ski Club
1996-1999: Oakland Ski Club^[3]

Noteworthy cases

Supreme Court stays order pausing termination of immigration parole programs

See also: Supreme Court emergency orders related to the Trump administration, 2025

At the start of the second Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security sought to end several special parole programs, including one that allowed about 500,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to stay in the United States legally.^[13] Several affected individuals filed a lawsuit before the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging the policy changes on February 28, 2025.^[14]

On April 14, Judge Indira Talwani issued an order pausing the Trump administration's parole program terminations.^[15] The federal government appealed this decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which declined to stay Talwani's order.^[16]

The federal government filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court on May 8, 2025, asking the court to stay Talwani's order.^[17] On May 30, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the federal government's request for a stay in a 7-2 decision. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.^[18]