Maryland Supreme Court

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Maryland Supreme Court
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Court Information
Justices: 7
Founded: 1776
Location: Annapolis
Salary
Associates: $226,433[1]
Judicial Selection
Method: Assisted appointment (governor-controlled commission)
Term: 10 years
Active justices
Jonathan Biran, Brynja McDivitt Booth, Angela M. Eaves, Matthew Fader, Steven Gould, Peter K. Killough, Shirley Marie Watts

Founded in 1776, the Maryland Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief justice of the court is Matthew Fader.

The court's name changed from the Maryland Court of Appeals to the Maryland Supreme Court, following a ballot initiative that voters approved in November 2022.[2]

As of August 2024, two judges on the court were appointed by a Democratic governor and five judges were appointed by a Republican governor.

The Maryland Supreme Court meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in Annapolis, Maryland. The court's term begins in September and ends in June of each year.[3]

In Maryland, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

Jurisdiction

The Maryland supreme court has discretionary jurisdiction to hear appeals when it determines that hearing the appeal would be in the public interest. The court also has exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving legislative redistricting, the death penalty, issues concerning the removal of elected officials, and certification of questions of law.[4]

The court has the authority to adopt administrative, practical and procedural rules, all of which have the force of law. The Supreme Court is also responsible for determining admission to the state bar and is in charge of disciplinary proceedings and penalties for ethical and legal violations by lawyers and the judiciary. To that end, the court supervises the Attorney Grievance Commission and the State Board of Law Examiners.[5]

Judges

The table below lists the current judges of the Maryland Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office.[3] 

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Office Name Party Date assumed office
Maryland Supreme Court 1st Circuit Brynja McDivitt Booth Nonpartisan March 22, 2019
Maryland Supreme Court 2nd Circuit Angela M. Eaves Nonpartisan April 12, 2022
Maryland Supreme Court 3rd Circuit Matthew Fader Nonpartisan April 14, 2022
Maryland Supreme Court 4th Circuit Peter K. Killough Nonpartisan July 31, 2024
Maryland Supreme Court 5th Circuit Jonathan Biran Nonpartisan December 16, 2019
Maryland Supreme Court 6th Circuit Shirley Marie Watts Nonpartisan July 31, 2013
Maryland Supreme Court 7th Circuit Steven Gould Nonpartisan September 11, 2021


Judicial circuits

There is one judge from each of the state's seven appellate judicial circuits, and each judge is required to be a resident of his or her respective circuit. The circuits are set up as follows:

Maryland Supreme Court Judicial Circuits

Circuit Counties
1 Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico & Worcester counties
2 Baltimore County & Harford County
3 Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard & Washington counties
4 Prince George's County
5 Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's counties
6 Baltimore City
7 Montgomery County

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Maryland

The seven judges of the Maryland Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. The Maryland Judicial Nominating Commission is responsible for screening candidates and submitting a shortlist to the governor. This commission consists of 17 members appointed by the governor and the Maryland State Bar Association. The governor must appoint a judge from the commission's shortlist and the appointee must then be confirmed by the Maryland State Senate.[6][7]

After serving for one year, judges must stand for retention in the next general election if they wish to remain on the court. If retained, a judge wins a full ten-year term.[6]

The court's name changed from the Maryland Court of Appeals to the Maryland Supreme Court, following a ballot initiative that voters approved in November 2022.[2]

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

  • a U.S. and state citizen;
  • a registered state voter;
  • a state resident for at least five years;
  • a resident of the geographic area where the vacancy exists for at least six months;
  • a state bar member;
  • at least 30 years old; and
  • under the age of 70 (retirement at 70 is mandatory).[6]

Chief justice

The chief justice of the court is designated by the governor to serve indefinite terms.[6]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year and then stands for retention at the next general election.[6]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.


Elections

See also: Maryland Supreme Court elections

2024

See also: Maryland Supreme Court elections, 2024

The terms of three Maryland Supreme Court justices expired on December 31, 2024. The three seats were up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was August 5, 2024.

Candidates and results

2nd Circuit

Maryland Supreme Court 2nd Circuit, Angela M. Eaves' seat

Angela M. Eaves was retained to the 2nd Circuit of the Maryland Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 79.8% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
79.8
 
 334,044
No
 
20.2
 
 84,814
Total Votes
 418,858

 Source

3rd Circuit

Maryland Supreme Court 3rd Circuit, Matthew Fader's seat

Matthew Fader was retained to the 3rd Circuit of the Maryland Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 81.5% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
81.5
 
 330,995
No
 
18.5
 
 75,370
Total Votes
 406,365

 Source

6th Circuit

Maryland Supreme Court 6th Circuit, Shirley Marie Watts' seat

Shirley Marie Watts was retained to the 6th Circuit of the Maryland Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 89.1% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
89.1
 
 133,459
No
 
10.9
 
 16,379
Total Votes
 149,838

 Source



2022

See also: Maryland Supreme Court elections, 2022

The term of one Maryland Court of Appeals justice expired on December 31, 2022. The seat was up for retention election on November 8, 2022.

Candidates and election results

Steven Gould's seat

Maryland Court of Appeals 7th Appellate Circuit (Historical), Steven Gould's seat

Steven Gould was retained to the 7th Appellate Circuit of the Appellate Court of Maryland on November 8, 2022 with 87.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
87.3
 
 232,127
No
 
12.7
 
 33,729
Total Votes
 265,856

It has been certified. Source



2020

See also: Maryland Supreme Court elections, 2020

The terms of two Maryland Court of Appeals justices expired on December 31, 2020. The two seats were up for retention election on November 3, 2020.

Candidates and results

1st Appellate Circuit

General election candidates

5th Appellate Circuit

General election candidates

7th Appellate Circuit

General election candidates


2018

See also: Maryland Supreme Court elections, 2018

Candidates and results

Getty's seat

General election candidates

2016

Judges who faced retention

■ Clayton Greene Green check mark transparent.png
■ Michele D. Hotten Green check mark transparent.png

November 8 general election

Clayton Greene was retained in the Maryland Court of Appeals, Greene's Seat election with 80.71% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Appeals, Greene's Seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngClayton Greene80.71%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Michele D. Hotten was retained in the Maryland Court of Appeals, Hotten's Seat election with 87.18% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Appeals, Hotten's Seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMichele D. Hotten87.18%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached each year.[8][9]

Maryland Supreme Court caseload data
Year Filings Dispositions
2022 60 57
2021 64 62
2020 62 72
2019 79 84
2018 87 88
2017 94 97
2016 94 100
2015 92 87
2014 106 153
2013 124 109
2012 128 173
2011 135 161
2010 134 140
2009 176 98
2008 165 135
2007 148 176

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

Ballotpedia Courts Determiners and Dissenters navigation ad.png In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

  • We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
  • We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
  • We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
  • We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

  • Number of justices: 7
  • Number of cases: 149
  • Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 86.6%% (129)
  • Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Robert McDonald (38)
  • Per curiam decisions: 10
  • Concurring opinions: 13
  • Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Shirley Marie Watts (5)
  • Dissenting opinions: 20
  • Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Shirley Marie Watts (7)

For the study's full set of findings in Maryland, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Ballotpedia Courts State Partisanship navigation ad.png Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

  • Strong Democrat
  • Mild Democrat
  • Indeterminate[10]
  • Mild Republican
  • Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.[11]

Maryland had a Court Balance Score of -0.71, indicating Split control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

SSC by state.png


Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Maryland was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Maryland received a score of -0.44. Based on the justices selected, Maryland was the 10th most liberal court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[12]

Noteworthy cases

For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

Ethics

The Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Maryland. It is composed of four sections containing rules and guidance on how to interpret the rules:

  • Section 1: "Rules Governing Judicial Integrity and the Avoidance of Impropriety (Rules 1.1 through 1.3)"
  • Section 2: "Rules Governing the Performance of Judicial Duties (Rules 2.1 through 2.16)"
  • Section 3: "Rules Governing Non-Judicial Activities (Rules 3.1 through 3.15)"
  • Section 4: "Rules Governing Political Activity (Rules 4.1 through 4.6)"[13]

The full text of the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

History of the court

In 1664, when Maryland was a settlement, the general assembly, in addition to acting as a legislature, acted as a court of law. When the assembly divided into two houses in 1650, the upper house became the state court of appeals. Its decisions could be appealed to be reviewed by the king and council of England if the dispute involved more than 300 pounds.[14]

The first Maryland constitution of 1776 recreated the court of appeals as the highest court in the state, and it separated government administration into three branches of government. Judges were appointed by the governor with the consent of the council and were required by the constitution to be "persons of integrity and sound judgment in the law, whose judgment shall be final and conclusive, in all cases of appeal."[15] Judges were to hold office during good behavior. Since the number of justices on the court was not specified in the first constitution, the state house and senate agreed on five justices after balloting in 1778.[16][17]

In 1805 the chief judges of the six state judicial districts were constituted to create the court of appeals through the Maryland Judicial Districts, Amendment 1 (1804). Judges held their commissions upon good behavior, but they could be removed by the governor with a two-thirds vote of both houses of the general assembly. Because of transportation difficulties in this period, the court, which up to then heard cases only in Annapolis, was required to hold sessions on the eastern and western shores.[18][19]

The 1851 constitution modified the court in a number of ways, including requiring four judges, chosen by voters from each of four judicial districts for ten-year terms, instead of the court being composed of the chief judges of the trial courts for lifetime tenure. The chief judge was appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. The court was also no longer required to hold court anywhere except Annapolis. Judges were required for the first time to file a written opinion for each case that was decided and to regularly publish such reports. Oral arguments were reduced to a maximum of two and one-half hours.[20]

The 1864 constitution, created after the Civil War, increased the number of judges from four to five to try to reduce the backlog in cases. Each judge was elected from a judicial district. Terms were increased to 15 years. Court of appeals judges were no longer required to sit as trial judges and the trial court system was divided into thirteen judicial districts. The 1867 constitution (the state's current constitution) increased the number of judges to eight and required them to sit for ten months out of the year, thus finally reducing the backlog.[21][22]

A 1944 reorganization reduced the number of judges to five, with three elected from three appellate circuits, and two elected from the fourth appellate circuit that includes the city of Baltimore. In 1960 the court of appeals was increased to seven judges through the Maryland Membership of the Court of Appeals, Amendment 12 (1960), where it remains today.

The court of appeals was renamed the supreme court of Maryland on December 14, 2022 through the Maryland Question 1, Renaming of the Courts of Appeals and Special Appeals Amendment (2022) and judges of the highest court were renamed justices. Name change proponents argued that the current name caused confusion and was out of step with other courts around the country. Court of appeals Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera explaining "lawyers, law students, and litigants research, contact, and even file papers with the wrong court."[23]

Former judges

1996-2003

  • Robert M. Bell, 6th Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Dale R. Cathell, 1st Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Howard S. Chasanow, 4th Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • John C. Eldridge, 5th Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Robert L. Karwacki, 1st Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Joseph F. Murphy, Jr., 2nd Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Robert C. Murphy, 2nd Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Irma S. Raker, 7th Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Lawrence F. Rodowsky, 3rd Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Alan M. Wilner, 2nd Appellate Judicial Circuit
  • Mary Ellen Barbera, 7th Appellate Judicial Circuit

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Courts in Maryland

See also: Courts in Maryland

In Maryland there is one federal district court, two appellate courts (one of which serves as the state supreme court), and two trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Maryland's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.


The structure of Maryland's state court system.

Party control of Maryland state government

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Maryland has a Democratic trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

.


See also

Maryland Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Maryland
Maryland Supreme Court
Maryland Court of Appeals
Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Maryland
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 CBS Baltimore, "The Court of Appeals of Maryland is now the Supreme Court of Maryland," December 14, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Maryland Courts, "Court of Appeals," accessed August 17, 2021
  4. ↑ Maryland Courts,"Supreme Court of Maryland," accessed June 18, 2024
  5. ↑ Maryland Courts,"Supreme Court of Maryland," accessed June 18, 2024
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Maryland," accessed August 16, 2021
  7. ↑ Maryland Manual Online, APPELLATE COURTS JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION," February 28, 2020
  8. ↑ Maryland Courts, "Maryland Judiciary Statistical Abstract," August 2020
  9. ↑ Maryland Courts, "Annual Reports," accessed October 5, 2022
  10. ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
  11. ↑ The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
  12. ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
  13. ↑ Maryland Courts, "Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct 2010," accessed June 13, 2015
  14. ↑ Maryland Law Review,"Commemoration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Maryland Court of Appeals: A Short History," accessed June 18, 2024
  15. ↑ Yale Law School,"Constitution of Maryland - November 11, 1776," accessed June 18, 2024
  16. ↑ Maryland Law Review,"Commemoration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Maryland Court of Appeals: A Short History," accessed June 18, 2024
  17. ↑ Maryland Manual On-Line,"Supreme Court of Maryland," accessed June 18, 2024
  18. ↑ Maryland Manual On-Line,"Supreme Court of Maryland," accessed June 18, 2024
  19. ↑ Maryland Law Review,"Commemoration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Maryland Court of Appeals: A Short History," accessed June 18, 2024
  20. ↑ Maryland Law Review,"Commemoration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Maryland Court of Appeals: A Short History," accessed June 18, 2024
  21. ↑ Maryland Manual On-Line,"Supreme Court of Maryland," accessed June 18, 2024
  22. ↑ Maryland Law Review,"Commemoration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Maryland Court of Appeals: A Short History," accessed June 18, 2024
  23. ↑ Judicature,"Renaming Maryland's Appellate Courts," accessed June 18, 2024

Maryland courts

Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Maryland • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Maryland

State courts:

Maryland Supreme Court • Appellate Court of Maryland • Maryland District Courts • Maryland Circuit Courts • Maryland Orphans' Court

State resources:

Courts in Maryland • Maryland judicial elections • Judicial selection in Maryland


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