--- title: "Donald W. Molloy | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donald-w-molloy" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Donald W. Molloy U.S. District Court for the District of Montana · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Montana - State: Montana - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana, having assumed senior status on August 16, 2011 - Judge, District Court, D. Montana, 1996-2011 - He received his federal district court commission on August 1, 1996, and served as chief judge from 2001 to 2008 - Law clerk, Hon. James Battin, U.S. District Court, District of Montana, 1976-1978 - From 1976 to 1978, Molloy was a law clerk to Judge James F. Battin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana - His career included Navy aviation service, a clerkship for federal Judge James F. Battin, and private practice ### Education - a J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law in 1976, where he was a member of the Law Review. - Undergraduate degree in 1968 and law degree in 1976 from the University of Montana. - He obtained a B.A. from the University of Montana in 1968 ### Additional information - Confirmed by the Senate on July 18, 1996, and commissioned August 1, 1996 - Nominated by President Bill Clinton on December 21, 1995, to replace Paul G. Hatfield, who took senior status. - Private practice, Billings, MT, 1978-1995 - Private practice, Billings, Montana, 1978-1995 - He then practiced law in Billings, Montana, from 1978 to 1995, holding leadership roles in the legal community - U.S. Navy aviator, 1968-1973 - He also served in the U.S. Navy Naval Aviation from 1968 to 1973, reaching the rank of lieutenant and serving aboard the USS John F. Kennedy - Born in 1946 in Butte, Montana, Molloy grew up in an Irish-American family. - Date of birth: 1946-01-01 - Molloy is a member of the State Bar of Montana, American College of Trial Lawyers, and American Board of Trial Advocates, and has served on the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council and Federal Criminal Rules Advisory Committee - Birth place: Butte, MT ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Courtroom Technology . The District of Montana provides electronic evidence presentation capabilities in the main courtrooms of each courthouse, as well as in Magistrate courtrooms in Billings, Great Falls, and Missoula. The courtrooms have document cameras for paper, x-ray or photographs, connections for computer-based evidence, ergonomic podiums and witness stands with touch-screen displays for annotation… [Courtroom Technology | District of Montana | United States District Court](https://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385241) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385241) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385241) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2278/donald-w-molloy/) - [Courtroom Technology | District of Montana | United States District Court](https://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2278/donald-w-molloy/) - [Judge Donald W. Molloy](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385241) - [Wikidata: Donald W. Molloy](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5295262) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donald-w-molloy", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donald-w-molloy", "name": "Donald W. Molloy | KnowJudges", "description": "Donald W. Molloy, U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donald-w-molloy#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donald-w-molloy#judge", "name": "Donald W. 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Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.