The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court,which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices,meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital,Annapolis. The term of the Court begins the second Monday of September. The Court is unique among American courts in that the justices wear red robes.
The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation;consequently,the government of Maryland,like the other 49 state governments,has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders,except as limited by the Constitution of the United States.
Robert Mack Bell is an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore,Maryland. From 1996 to 2013,he served as Chief Judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals,now known as the Supreme Court of Maryland,the state's highest appellate court. He was the first African American to hold the position.
Alan M. Wilner is an American lawyer and jurist who served as a judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals,the state's highest court,from Baltimore County,Maryland.
Catherine Curran O'Malley is an American jurist who served as a Baltimore City District Court judge. She is married to Martin O'Malley,a former governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore,and a 2016 presidential candidate. She was an unsuccessful candidate for Maryland Attorney General in the 2022 election.
Simon Ernest Sobeloff was an American attorney and jurist,who served as Solicitor General of the United States,as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland,and as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Maryland since January 1,2013. In 2012,the state's Democratic representatives,led by Governor Martin O'Malley,began a campaign for its legalization. After much debate,a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the General Assembly in February 2012 and signed on March 1,2012. The law took effect on January 1,2013 after 52.4% of voters approved a statewide referendum held on November 6,2012. The vote was hailed as a watershed moment by gay rights activists and marked the first time marriage rights in the United States had been extended to same-sex couples by popular vote. Maryland was the ninth U.S. state,excluding California which had constitutionally banned same-sex marriage,but still recognized prior marriages,to legalize same-sex marriage.
The University of Baltimore School of Law,or the UB School of Law,is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore,which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools in the state of Maryland. The University of Baltimore School of Law is housed in the John and Frances Angelos Law Center,at the northeast corner of West Mount Royal Avenue and North Charles Street on the University of Baltimore campus in the city's Mt. Vernon cultural district. The 12-story building,designed by German architect Stefan Behnisch,opened in April 2013 and was rated LEED-Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Diana Jane Gribbon Motz is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Arrie W. Davis is an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore,Maryland. Until his retirement in July 2010,he was an associate judge on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.
Richard D. Bennett is a United States Senior District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Born in Maryland,Bennett is a graduate of Severn School,the University of Pennsylvania,and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. He previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney and the United States Attorney for Maryland,and was awarded multiple commendations for his service. In private practice,Bennett was a partner in a major Maryland law firm,where he specialized in white collar criminal defense. Appointed to the federal bench in 2003,he took senior status in 2021. While maintaining an active trial docket in the District of Maryland,Bennett has increasingly been sitting by designation with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Kathleen McDonald "Kate" O'Malley is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is currently of counsel at Sullivan &Cromwell.
Joseph F. Murphy Jr. was an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore,Maryland. Between December 17,2007,and September 30,2011,he was a judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals,the highest court in Maryland. Prior to this appointment,Murphy served as the Chief Judge of the Court of Special Appeals,Maryland's intermediate court of appeals. He was also an instructor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Carolyn Baldwin McHugh is an American lawyer and judge who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. and former Presiding Judge of the Utah Court of Appeals.
Mary Ellen Barbera is an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore,Maryland.
Michele Denise Hotten is a senior justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland appointed by Governor Larry Hogan.
Audrey J. S. Carrion is an American judge who has served as an associate judge on the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Baltimore since 1999,as that court's administrative judge as of 2020,and later as its chief judge.
Angela M. Eaves is an American lawyer and judge. She is a justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland. She served as an administrative judge for the 3rd Judicial Circuit for Harford County from 2015 to 2022.
Albert J. Matricciani,Jr. is a retired American judge in the state of Maryland,who served both at the trial and appellate levels of Maryland's state court system. As a trial level judge,Matricianni was in charge of the Baltimore Circuit Court's Family Law Division for five years,and was later instrumental in creating the statewide Business and Technology Case Management Program. He was President of the Baltimore City Bar Association,and served in leadership in numerous entities and organizations of a legal or charitable nature.
