Appellate Court of Maryland

	Appellate Court of Maryland
	Court information
Judges:	15
Founded:	1966
Location:	Annapolis, Md.
Salary:	Associates: $223,633
	Judicial selection
Method:	Assisted appointment with Senate confirmation
Term:	10 years

Robert C. Murphy Court of Appeals Building

The Appellate Court of Maryland is the intermediate appellate court in Maryland. The court was established in 1966 to assist the Maryland Supreme Court with the appellate caseload. It is located in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in Annapolis, Md. Unless the law states otherwise, the Court of Appeals considers any reviewable judgment, decree, order or other action of the circuit and orphans' courts.^[1]

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals became the Appellate Court of Maryland, following a 2022 constitutional amendment that changed the court's name. Prior to 2022, the Maryland Supreme Court was known as the Maryland Court of Appeals.^[2]

The Appellate Court of Maryland has exclusive initial appellate jurisdiction to review judgments and orders issued by any of the state's circuit or orphans' courts. The lone exception is cases involving the death penalty; those go straight to the Maryland Supreme Court.^[3]

Judges are appointed to serve 10-year terms by the governor of the state and must be confirmed by the Maryland Senate before taking office. At least one year after the appointment, judges must run in a retention election. If a judge is retained, he or she will serve another 10-year term. Maryland mandates that judges retire when they reach the age of 70.^[3]

Usually, judges hear and decide cases in three-person panels, although sometimes all 15 judges sit en banc. In February 2010, the Court of Appeals created an alternative dispute resolution division, in which cases are mediated rather than heard before the court. The chief judge of the Court of Appeals is the administrative head of this division. Every civil case filed with the court is first reviewed to see if it has potential to be mediated. When a case is mediated, both sides sit down with an objective third party who guides the parties to a resolution of the case without the need for judicial intervention.^[3]^[4]

Published opinions of the Appellate Court of Maryland can be found here.

E. Gregory Wells was designated by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to serve as the chief judge on February 17, 2022.^[5]

Judges

The judges of the Appellate Court of Maryland usually sit in panels of three to hear cases. A hearing with the full court is possible, but only on a majority vote of the sitting judges.

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Rosalyn Tang	March 3, 2022 - Present	Larry Hogan
Laura S. Ripken	January 11, 2021 - Present	Larry Hogan
Stephen Hughes Kehoe	April 11, 2024 - Present	Wes Moore
Douglas R.M. Nazarian	January 1, 2013 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Kathryn Grill Graeff	September 2, 2008 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Melanie M. Shaw Geter	2016 - Present	Larry Hogan
Michael Wilson Reed	March 18, 2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Dan Friedman	2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Stuart R. Berger	2011 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Edward Gregory Wells	March 22, 2019 - Present	Larry Hogan
Terrence Zic	November 10, 2020 - Present	Larry Hogan
Andrea M. Leahy	2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Donald E. Beachley	2016 - Present	Larry Hogan
Anne Korbel Albright	April 20, 2022 - Present	Larry Hogan
Kevin Arthur	2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley

Judicial circuits

There are eight judges elected at large and one judge elected from each of the state's seven appellate judicial circuits.^[3] The circuits are designated as follows:

Maryland 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

Salary

See also: Maryland court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $223,633, according to the National Center for State Courts.^[7]

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Maryland

The 15 judges of the Appellate Court of Maryland 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.^[8]^[9]

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.^[8]

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

Qualifications

To join either of these courts, 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).^[8]

Chief judge

The chief judge of the court is designated by the governor to serve indefinite terms.^[8]

Vacancies

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. If retained, a judge wins a full term of ten years.^[8]

Elections

Appellate Court of Maryland 3rd Appellate Circuit

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Appellate Court of Maryland At-large

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Appellate Court of Maryland 4th Appellate Circuit

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Appellate Court of Maryland At-large

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Appellate Court of Maryland At-large

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Appellate Court of Maryland 1st Appellate Circuit

Stephen Hughes Kehoe was retained to the Appellate Court of Maryland 1st Appellate Circuit on November 5, 2024 with 80.5% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	80.5	157,730
	No	19.5	38,325
	Total Votes		196,055