Lynne Battaglia
Lynne A. Battaglia was a judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals, or Maryland's court of last resort. She was appointed to this position by Governor Parris N. Glendening and took office on January 26, 2001. Her last term would have expired in 2022.[1][2]
Judge Battaglia retired on April 14, 2016.[3] Governor Larry Hogan appointed Joseph Getty as her successor.
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.[4]
On March 25, 2022, Battaglia ruled that the congressional district boundaries that the Maryland General Assembly enacted on December 9, 2021, were unconstitutional due to partisan gerrymandering, and directed the state’s General Assembly to adopt a new plan.[5] Click here for more information.
Education
Battaglia received her B.A. in 1967 and her M.A. in 1968 from American University. She earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1974 and was admitted to the bar that same year.[1]
Career
- 2001-2016: Justice, Maryland Court of Appeals
- 1993-2001: U.S. Attorney, District of Maryland
- 1991-1993: Chief of Staff, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski
- 1988-1991: Chief of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Office of Attorney General
- 1984-1988: Senior trial attorney in the Office of Special Litigation of the U.S. Department of Justice
- 1978-1982: Assistant U.S. Attorney[1]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2010: Inductee, Howard County Women's Hall of Fame
- 2008: Rita C. Davidson Award, Women's Bar Association of Maryland
- 2007: Conwell R. Sapp Award, Howard County Chapter, Women's Bar Association
- 2006: Charles Hamilton Houston Lifetime Achievement Award in Litigation, University of Baltimore School of Law
Associations
- 2004-2005: Chair, Howard County Chapter, James MacGill Inns of Court
- 1981-2005: Board of Directors, Traditional Acupuncture Institute[1]
For a complete list of Judge Battaglia's awards and associations, please visit: Maryland Court of Appeals, Lynne A. Battaglia
Elections
2012
Battaglia stood for retention to the court in 2012 and was retained.[6][7][8]
- See also: Maryland judicial elections, 2012
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Battaglia received a campaign finance score of -0.89, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.44 that justices received in Maryland.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, 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 an academic summary of various relevant factors.[9]
Noteworthy Cases
On March 25, 2022, Battaglia—serving as a senior justice on the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court—ruled that the congressional district boundaries that the Maryland General Assembly enacted on December 9, 2021, were unconstitutional due to partisan gerrymandering, and directed the state’s General Assembly to adopt a new plan. In her ruling, Battaglia said, "It is extraordinarily unlikely that a map that looks like the 2021 Plan could be produced without extreme partisan gerrymandering." Several Maryland residents had filed lawsuits in December 2021 challenging the new congressional map.[10] Click here for more information about the lawsuit and redistricting in Maryland after the 2020 census.
See also
External links
- Maryland Court of Appeals official site
- Project Vote Smart, Judge Lynne A. Battaglia (MD)
- The Daily Record, "No experience necessary," June 16, 2010
- The News Media & the Law, "A big win for anonymous Web speech," Spring 2009
- On The Docket, "Maryland v. Pringle, Joesph (12/15/2003)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Official biography of Justice Battaglia
- ↑ American Judicature Society: Maryland judges
- ↑ Maryland Manual On-Line, "Lynne A. Battaglia," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ CBS Baltimore, "The Court of Appeals of Maryland is now the Supreme Court of Maryland," December 14, 2022
- ↑ WBALTV, "Judge orders Maryland General Assembly to redraw Congressional district map," March 25, 2022
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, General Election Candidates List, Judge for Court of Special Appeals
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, General Election Results, Court of Special Appeals
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Presidential General Election Results," accessed December 1, 2012
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, Szeliga, et al., v. Lamone and Parrott, et al., v. Lamone, March 25, 2022
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
