Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David to retire

Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven H. David

After serving 10 years on the Indiana Supreme Court, a justice with strong ties to Bartholomew County has announced he is retiring.

Justice Steven H. David, who grew up in Columbus and was an attorney here in the late 1980s, says he intends to serve as a senior judge after his retirement.

In addition, he will continue to chair the Commission on Equity and Access, as well as Indiana’s Conference for Legal Education.

The retirement of David, who was picked by former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and sworn in on Oct. 18, 2010, was announced by Gov. Eric Holcomb.

“Justice David’s commitment to service combined with his passion for the rule of law have made an extraordinary impact not just on Hoosiers but our nation as a whole,” Holcomb said. “Serving with distinction as a military judge, trial court judge and justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, his contributions go far beyond the bench. Giving of himself unfailingly to help others, Justice David embodies what it means to be a humble servant-leader and the legacy he is leaving is truly remarkable.”

Considered the longest serving justice on the current court, David has authored 202 civil and criminal opinions. Of them, 158 were with the majority of his fellow justices, while 44 favored the minority.

Although born in Allen County, David spent most of his formulative years living in rural Bartholomew County. Honor roll records show the 1975 Columbus North High School graduate maintained exemplary grades, while news stories indicated a number of extracurricular interests ranging from speech and golf to Junior Achievement.

The son of S.H. and Rosemary David graduated magna cum laude from Murray State University as a Distinguished Military Graduate on an ROTC scholarship. In 1982, David earned his law degree from Indiana University.

David went on to serve in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps on active duty until 1986. He first went into private practice in Columbus, where he focused on personal injury, family law, and civil litigation. He served as an officer with the Bartholomew County Bar Association, as well as worked with the Bartholomew County Young Republicans.

He later became in-house counsel for Mayflower Transit, Inc before moving to Boone County. As judge of Boone Circuit Court from January 1995 to October 2010, he presided over more than 15,000 cases. Only 33 were appealed to the appellate court, and of those, only six were reversed, David said.

David remained on reserve duty with the U.S. Army until retiring with the rank of colonel in 2010. His service included two post 9/11 mobilizations in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he serve in a variety of judicial roles that included trial counsel, defense counsel, judge and commander.

David eventually graduated from the Army’s Command and General Staff College, the Military Judges School, and the Judge Advocate General’s Basic and Advanced Officer’s Course.

His dedication to the military, pro bono services, and the rule of law earned him a number of military and citizen awards including the nation’s third highest non-combat medal, the Defense Superior Service Award. He also earned multiple Meritorious Service Awards, Army Commendation Medals and the Frederick Douglas Human Rights Award.

In other activities, his efforts to improve the availability of mental health services for children led to his recognition by the Indiana chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. He currently serves as president of the Community Foundation of Boone County and has previously served on both the Zionsville and Lebanon Boys and Girls Clubs’ Board of Directors.