Fourth District
411 State House
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-6902
Mary A. DeBoer grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and relocated permanently to Valparaiso, Indiana in 1990. She graduated with honors from Western Michigan University in 1989 and earned her J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1993. Judge DeBoer served as a deputy prosecutor and as a magistrate for Starke and Porter Counties. She was appointed as the Porter Circuit Court Judge in 2019 by Governor Eric J. Holcomb, who later appointed her to serve on the Court of Appeals of Indiana in 2024.
Judge DeBoer has worked in public service and private practice. As a private attorney, her focus was primarily on family law, personal injury, and medical malpractice cases. Her thirteen-year career as a deputy prosecutor reinforced her desire to protect vulnerable individuals and serve her community. Her work in the criminal justice system provided her with invaluable trial experience, as she worked with juveniles and adults on cases spanning from infractions to murder. From 2007 to 2010, her service as a deputy prosecutor was focused on domestic and family violence in Starke County.
While in the Circuit Court, Judge DeBoer created two evidence-based juvenile problem-solving courts, each the first of its kind in the State of Indiana: a Truancy Court and a Transformation (mental health) Court. Her desire to find ways to connect youth struggling with delinquency with positive community mentors also led to the creation of an Immersion Through the Arts Program. As a judicial officer, she created and implemented programs to improve access to the courts for litigants in civil, criminal, and juvenile matters. As a Porter Superior Court Magistrate, she started a family law facilitation program for indigent litigants to resolve dissolution issues. Following her appointment to the Porter Circuit Court, she led the Domestic Violence Committee in Porter County until 2024, bringing together numerous community partners to collaborate on domestic and family violence issues.
Judge DeBoer is a Certified Court Manager and presents regularly to judges, lawyers and students of all ages at various schools, organizations, and conferences. She has served on the Indiana Judges Association Board of Managers and was the Chair for the Criminal Bench Book Committee of the Indiana Office of Court Services as well as a member of the Community Relations and Strategic Planning Committees. Since joining the Court of Appeals, she serves as the Third District Representative on the Appellate Practice Section Council of the Indiana State Bar Association. Judge DeBoer also chairs the Criminal Case Flow Management project—a statewide examination into select counties’ criminal case processing systems with an eye toward identifying and sharing strategies that can improve criminal case processing throughout the state.
Judge DeBoer remains actively involved in her community. She is a member of the National Association of Women Judges, Women Lawyers Association, the Indiana State Bar Association, the Indy Bar Association as well as the Porter and Lake County Bar Associations. Outside of the legal realm, Judge DeBoer is dedicated to the Valparaiso Noon Kiwanis Club and community theater.
Throughout her judicial career, Judge DeBoer has emphasized access to justice, accountability, and the belief that courts can both uphold the law and strengthen the communities they serve.
Judge DeBoer and her husband have three daughters and one granddaughter. Their son, Daane, gave his life while serving in the United States Marine Corps in Afghanistan.
