Judge Frances C. Gull: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

Hon. Frances C. Gull is a judge for the Allen County Superior Court in Indiana. She was elected to the bench in 1996.

During her judicial tenure, Gull served as Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division. In 2022, she was appointed by the Indiana Supreme Court to oversee the Delphi murders case involving the abduction and murders of Libby German and her friend Abby Williams in Delphi, Indiana, in 2017.

Dedicated to innovations in jury management, restorative justice, and the use of technology in the courts, she was awarded the G. Thomas Munsterman Award for Jury Innovation from the National Center for State Courts in 2015. Gull has also supervised the county’s Drug Court program.

Prior to her election, she worked as a chief deputy prosecutor and chief counsel with the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office (1990 to 1996). Her assignments included the Criminal Division, Sex Crimes Unit, and Felony Division. Gull began prosecuting sex crimes against women and children before transitioning to robbery, burglary, arson, battery, and other felony offenses. She finished her prosecutorial career handling all homicides, high-profile felonies, arson investigations, and cases involving political figures. Gull first joined the office as a deputy prosecutor in 1987.

In between her time as a prosecutor, she served on the Allen County Circuit Court as a magistrate in the Civil Division for the Hon. Thomas L. Ryan (1988 to 1989). Gull also spent time as a Probate Court commissioner and Traffic Court referee (1984 to 1987) with the Allen County Superior Court, where she began her legal career as a law clerk in the Family and Criminal Divisions (1983 to 1984).

She received a B.S. in political science from St. Joseph’s College in 1980. Gull went on to complete a J.D. at Valparaiso University School of Law in 1983. She was admitted to practice in Indiana in 1984.

Gull served on SCAN’s (Stop Child Abuse and Neglect) Campaign for Children, the Allen County Community Corrections Executive Board, the Indiana Judicial Center’s Strategic Planning Committee, and the Indiana Judges Association.

She has also been a guest speaker for local businesses and schools and trained and lectured on various topics, including search and seizure, general criminal law, juvenile law, domestic violence, arson investigation, and issues involving prosecution and the criminal justice system.

Some of her accolades include the Community Service Award from the Fort Wayne Fire Department (2003) and the Citizen of the Year Award from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (2002).

When not presiding over legal matters, Gull enjoys cooking and gardening and is known for her raspberry vinegar and garlic dill pickles.