Holcomb selects Judge Derek Molter to join Indiana Supreme Court

Governor Eric Holcomb Friday announced he has selected Court of Appeals Judge Derek Molter as the next member of the Indiana Supreme Court.

Molter will replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Steven David.

Molter was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Holcomb and began his service on Oct. 1, 2021.

During his time on the Court of Appeals, Judge Molter has remained active as an officer in the Appellate Section of the Indiana State Bar, including recently leading an effort to organize an all-day continuing legal education seminar regarding state constitutional law.

Before joining the Court of Appeals, Molter was a partner at Ice Miller in Indianapolis and prior to that he was an attorney in Washington D.C. at Arnold & Porter LLP.

The office of Eric Holcomb says Judge Molter became one of the most distinguished appellate lawyers in Indiana. He has appeared before the Indiana Court of Appeals, the Indiana Supreme Court, and numerous federal trial and appellate courts. Holcomb’s office says Molter has played a key role in appellate preservation in many trials that reached jury verdicts and appeals.

Judge Molter was born and raised in Newton County. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a law degree from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law where he earned a place in the Order of the Coif Honor Society and graduated in the top three percent of his class.

Following graduation, Molter served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Theresa L. Springmann, a United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Indiana. He then practiced at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP in Washington D.C.

Molter recently partnered with Appellate Judge Leanna Weissmann and the State Bar to organize a collection effort to provide necessary supplies to Afghan evacuees at Camp Atterbury. Since 2011, he has helped administer a leadership fund that provides scholarships to students at his alma mater, South Newton High School. Judge Molter lives in Indianapolis with his wife Katie, an attorney, and his three children.