After nearly four decades of service, James M. Warden, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced his retirement. Warden, who began his career in 1985, is the longest-serving attorney in the office’s ninety-seven-year history. "Jim Warden is one of the finest and most dedicated public servants I’ve had the privilege to know. Throughout his career he has demonstrated tremendous commitment to the protecting the public, and holding offenders accountable for the harm they cause in our community," U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers said in a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Warden’s career included handling significant legal cases, such as criminal tax violations, violent crime, fraud, and public corruption. He worked with seven U.S. Attorneys and twelve Attorneys General. Warden prosecuted the district's first money laundering and currency transaction structuring cases. He was selected by U.S. Attorney John D. Tinder and began serving on May 20, 1985.

A key moment in his career was securing the district's first car-jacking conviction in 1999. He also led the prosecution of the Curry Brothers, who robbed four banks across Indiana, stealing over a million dollars. Warden was involved in major convictions, including the case of former Marion County Chief Deputy Prosecutor David Wyser, who accepted a bribe for approving the early release of a convicted killer. Additionally, Warden prosecuted significant offenses at the Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, such as official corruption, assaults, and trafficking.

He founded and chaired the Indiana Bank Fraud Working Group for thirty-five years and led several financial crime task forces. He also served as a military judge for thirty years in the United States Navy, retiring with the rank of Captain. Warden earned his law degree from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis in 1977 and began his legal career as a public defender and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Hancock and Marion counties.