Maryland Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission

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The Maryland Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission is an independent state commission in Maryland established by executive order that plays a role in the state's judicial selection process. This commission handles nominations for the state's appellate courts—the Court of Appeals and Court of Special Appeals. This commission consists of 17 members appointed the governor and the Maryland State Bar Association.

Maryland uses the assisted appointment method of judicial selection for its state courts. Using this method, the governor appoints state judges from a list of names submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commissions. This selection method is used for all of the appellate and trial courts in the state.

The commission is a governor-controlled commission, meaning the governor selects a majority of the commission members. As of September 12, 2025, 11 states used this type of commission. To learn more about controlling majorities in judicial selection commissions, click here.

To read more about the other judicial nominating commissions in the state, click here.

Members

Last updated: April 2025

The commission has 17 members, all of whom are appointed by the governor. The governor appoints 12 members directly and selects the remaining five members from a list of 10 lawyers submitted by the Maryland State Bar Association. The governor also selects the commission's chair.

The executive order governing the commission says that no more than one lawyer from the same firm or legal office may serve on the commission. Additionally, no person may serve on the commission who serves on a trial court's nominating commission, who holds elected office, or who is an employee of the governor's office.

Members of the Maryland Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission, April 2025
Name	Appointed by	Term-end date
Chairman Renee M. Hutchins	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Andrew H. Baida	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Gary E. Bair	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Joshua Civin	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Liset Collazo-Dingle	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Diane E. Feuerherd	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Toni Holness	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Tara Harrison Jackson	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Nicole Love-Kelly	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Peter S. O’Neill	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Leslie Florestano Peek	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Paul Pineau	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Paul Riekhof	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Kenneth L. Thompson Jr.	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Gregory K. Wells	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Carrie J. Williams	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027
Carville Collins	Gov. Wes Moore (D)	2027

Process

When a judicial vacancy occurs or will occur, the Administrative Office of the Courts alerts the commission. The office also puts out requests for applications via press announcements and outreach to interested bar associations. The commission meets to consider applications, recommendations from citizens, and recommendations from bar associations once the deadline for the vacancy passes. Either the full commission or specific panels interview each applicant. The commission then selects qualified candidates through a secret ballot by a majority vote of members present. The goal of the commission is to select three nominees to present to the governor, who must select a judge from that list.

Responsibilities and procedures

The commission must carry out its function in accordance with the responsibilities and procedures described in the most recently-released executive order governing the commission. This text was released in 2023.

“

If applications are accepted from new candidates for the vacancy, a Commission shall: Advertise the vacancy using print and electronic media, in coordination and consultation with the Administrative Office of the Courts. Encourage qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or economic status to apply for judicial appointment; Encourage qualified candidates from diverse practice areas to apply for judicial appointments; Notify the Maryland State Bar Association and other appropriate county and specialty bar associations of the vacancy and request that they advertise the vacancy to their membership; Seek recommendations from interested citizens and from its own members; and Set a closing date for submission of applications. If there are fewer than three applicants for a vacancy, the vacancy shall be automatically re-advertised to new candidates. If, after re-advertisement, there remain fewer than three applicants, the Governor shall determine whether to re-advertise or may direct the Commission to proceed with evaluating the applicants. A Commission shall review all applications submitted and evaluate each applicant. In the course of its evaluation, the Commission may: Seek information beyond that contained in the materials submitted by an applicant; Obtain pertinent information from the Attorney Grievance Commission, judges, courts, personal references given by the applicant, criminal justice agencies, knowledgeable persons known to Commission members, county or specialty bar associations, or other sources; and Request criminal history record information from the criminal justice agency, including the Central Repository, for the purpose of evaluating an applicant. A Commision shall interview each applicant: In person, or Via video teleconference, if: Extraordinary circumstances prevent the applicant from appearing in person; and The Governor gives prior approval. There shall be no monetary cost or Bar membership required for a candidate to be interviewed by a local bar association or specialty bar association. A Commission shall consider the applicant's integrity, maturity, temperament, diligence, legal knowledge, intellectual ability, professional experience, community service, and any other qualifications that the Commission deems important for judicial service, as well as the importance of having a diverse and impartial judiciary. In evaluating applications to fill a vacancy on a Trial Court, the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission shall give the same consideration to eligible applicants regardless of whether an applicant's legal practice is located outside of the county in which the applicant resides. A Commission member is disqualified from participating in the consideration, evaluation, or recommending or applicants for a vacancy in which an applicant is: In the member's immediate family; A current business or law partner; A lawyer in the same firm or legal office as the member, unless the Commission by a majority vote of the remaining Commission members determines that the member is capable of impartially considering the applicant; or Otherwise known to the member and the member believes they are incapable of impartially considering the applicant. A voting session of a Commission shall be attended by at least three-fifths of the members who are qualified to participate. No applicant may be recommended to the Governor for appointment unless by vote of a majority of members present and qualified to participate at a voting session of the appropriate Commission, as taken by secret ballot. A Commission may conduct more than one round of balloting during its deliberations. If a Commission determines that fewer than three applicants are legally and professionally qualified, the Commission shall notify the Governor, who shall direct the Commission: To re-advertise the vacancy to new candidates, or To submit the names of the qualified applicants. If a commission determines that at least three applicants are legally and professionally qualified, it shall report in writing to the Governor the names of at least three applicants recommended by the Commission as the most fully professionally qualified to fill the vacancy. The names of these recommended applicants shall be listed in alphabetical order. The Commission shall release this list to the public concurrently with submission of its report to the Governor. Upon request of the Governor, a Commission shall reconvene for further deliberations, or re-advertise a vacancy to new applicants.

”

Duties

As of April 2025, the commission's website did not list specific duties for members of the commission.

Control of judicial selection commissions

Assisted appointment is a method of judicial selection in which a nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.

At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types, based on the makeup of the judicial nominating commissions. Those types are:

• Governor-controlled commission - The governor is either responsible for appointing a majority of the members of the nominating commission or may decline to appoint a candidate from a list provided by the nominating commission.
• Bar-controlled commission - Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the members of the nominating commission.
• Hybrid - There is no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state Bar Association. The membership of these commissions is determined by different rules in each state.

Twenty-three courts in 22 states used assisted appointment to select state supreme court justices as of June 2021. Maryland used a governor-controlled commission. The table below shows the number of courts using each variation of assisted appointment at the state supreme court level.

Assisted appointment methods in state supreme courts
Method	Courts (of 23)
Governor-controlled majority	10
Bar-controlled majority	1
Hybrid	12

The map below highlights the states that use each of the three types of assisted appointment.

About judicial selection

Each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they select judges at the state and local level. These methods of selection are:

Election

• Partisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
• Nonpartisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
• Michigan method: State supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections preceded by either partisan primaries or conventions.
• Retention election: A periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. Judges are not selected for initial terms in office using this election method.

Assisted appointment

• Assisted appointment, also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list. At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types:
  • Bar-controlled commission: Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees that they must choose from.
  • Governor-controlled commission: The governor is responsible for appointing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees they must choose from.
  • Hybrid commission: The judicial nominating commission has no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state bar association. These commissions determine membership in a variety of ways, but no institution or organization has a clear majority control.

Direct appointment

• Court appointment: Judges are selected by judges in the state judiciary.
• Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, approval from the legislative body is required.
• Legislative election: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
• Municipal government selection: Judges are selected by the governing body of their municipality.

Click a state on the map below to explore judicial selection processes in that state.

Choose your state...AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington, D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

http://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_STATE

See also

State courts	Appointment methods	Election methods
State supreme courts Intermediate appellate courts Trial courts	Assisted appointment Court appointment Gubernatorial appointment Legislative election Municipal government selection	Partisan election Nonpartisan election Michigan method

External links

• Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission
• Maryland Courts, Judicial Selection

Footnotes

Maryland courts

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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