Fourth District
411 State House
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-6902
Mary A. DeBoer grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan until she permanently relocated to Valparaiso, Indiana in 1990. She graduated with honors from Western Michigan University in 1989 and Valparaiso University School of Law in 1993. Judge DeBoer served as a deputy prosecutor and then as magistrate for Starke and Porter Counties. Governor Eric J. Holcomb appointed her to the Porter Circuit Court in 2019, and then to the Court of Appeals of Indiana in September 2024.
Judge DeBoer has worked in both 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 as a whole. Her work in the criminal arena provided her with invaluable jury 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 serving as a judicial officer, Judge DeBoer created and implemented programs to provide access to the courts and to help litigants in the civil, criminal, and juvenile arenas. 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 in 2020, she led the Domestic Violence Committee in Porter County until 2024, bringing together numerous community partners to collaborate on domestic and family violence issues. She 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.
Judge DeBoer has earned a Certified Court Manager Certification and presents regularly to judges, lawyers and undergraduate students at various schools and organizations. She has served on the Indiana Judges Association Board of Managers and was the Chairperson for the Criminal Benchbook Committee of the Indiana Office of Court Services as well as a member of the Community Relations and Strategic Planning Committees.
Active community involvement is very important to Judge DeBoer. She is a member of the National Association of Women Judges, Women Lawyers Association, the Indiana Bar Association as well as the Porter and Lake County Bar Associations. Outside of the legal realm, Judge DeBoer is active in Kiwanis and community theater.
Judge DeBoer and her husband are the parents of three daughters and one granddaughter. Their son Daane lost his life in Afghanistan serving in the Marines.