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Maryland Court of Appeals justice vacancy (April 2022)
| Maryland Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Getty vacancy |
| Date: April 14, 2022 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Matthew Fader |
| Date: February 17, 2022 |
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) appointed Matthew Fader to the Maryland Court of Appeals on February 17, 2022. The Maryland State Senate confirmed, Fader on March 15, 2022. He succeeded Chief Justice Joseph Getty, who retired on April 14, 2022, after reaching the state court's mandatory retirement age of 70 years.[1][2][3] Fader was Gov. Hogan's seventh nominee to the seven-member court.
At the time of the vacancy under Maryland law, judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals were selected through the assisted appointment method. The Maryland Judicial Nominating Commission screened candidates and submitted a shortlist to the governor. The governor would appoint a judge from the list and the appointee had to be confirmed by the Maryland State Senate.[4][5]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Maryland Court of Appeals vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2022.
The appointee
- See also: Matthew Fader
At the time of his nomination, Matthew Fader was a judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. He was appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2017. Fader succeeded Patrick Woodward as chief judge of the court in November 2018.[6]
Prior to joining the court, Fader served as assistant attorney general and chief of civil litigation for the State of Maryland. Before joining the attorney general's office, Fader was a partner with Kirkpatrick and Lockhardt, LLP. He also previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice.[3]
Fader earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from Yale Law School.[3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
The Maryland Judicial Nominating Commission announced the following finalists for the supreme court position:[7]
- Maryland Court of Special Appeals Judge Matthew Fader
- Maryland Court of Special Appeals 3rd Appellate Circuit Judge Kathryn Graeff
- Maryland Court of Special Appeals Judge Andrea M. Leahy-Fucheck
Applicants
The Maryland Judicial Nominating Commission announced the following applicants for the supreme court position:[7]
- Lawyer Keith Stuart Blair
- Maryland Court of Special Appeals Judge Matthew Fader
- Maryland Sixth Circuit Court Judge Dino Flores Jr.
- Maryland Court of Special Appeals 3rd Appellate Circuit Judge Kathryn Graeff
- Maryland Court of Special Appeals Judge Andrea M. Leahy-Fucheck
- General counsel Steven Lee Tiedemann
- General counsel Mitchell Craig Wolf
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Maryland
At the time of the vacancy, the seven judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals were selected through the assisted appointment method. The Maryland Judicial Nominating Commission would screen candidates and submit a shortlist to the governor. The governor had to appoint a judge from the list and the appointee had to then be confirmed by the Maryland State Senate.[4][5]
After serving for one year, judges would stand for retention in the next general election if they wished to remain on the court. If retained, a judge would win a full ten-year term.[4]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Maryland Court of Appeals
Justices
Following Getty's retirement, the Maryland Court of Appeals included the following members:
| ■ Brynja McDivitt Booth | Appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2019 | |
| ■ Michele D. Hotten | Appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2015 | |
| ■ Jonathan Biran | Appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2019 | |
| ■ Shirley Marie Watts | Appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) in 2013 | |
| ■ Steven Gould | Appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2021 |
About the court
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.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
About Chief Justice Getty
- See also: Joseph Getty
Chief Justice Joseph Getty joined the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2016. He was appointed to the court by Governor Larry Hogan (R).
Before serving on the state supreme court, Getty served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1995 to 2003, where he was deputy minority whip, and was a Republican member of the Maryland State Senate, representing District 5 from 2011 to 2015. He served as state Senate minority whip from 2012 to 2014. Before his appointment to the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2016, Getty served as chief legislative officer for the Maryland Office of the Governor.[11]
Getty earned a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Washington College in 1974. He earned an M.A. in American Civilization from George Washington University in 1980. He earned a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1996.[12]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2022
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2022
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2022. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Maryland General Assembly, "Senate Executive Nominations Committee ," March 29, 2022
- ↑ Maryland.gov, "Governor Hogan Announces Judicial Appointments," September 3, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Office of Governor Larry Hogan, "Governor Hogan Announces Nine Judicial Appointments, Historic Nominees For Maryland’s Appellate Courts," February 17, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Maryland," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Maryland Manual Online, APPELLATE COURTS JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION," February 28, 2020
- ↑ Office of Governor Larry Hogan, "Governor Larry Hogan Announces Judicial Designation," November 20, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Maryland Courts, "Maryland Judicial Vacancies," accessed January 14, 2022
- ↑ Maryland Manual, "Maryland Court of Special Appeals," accessed April 21, 2015
- ↑ CBS News, "The Court of Appeals of Maryland is now the Supreme Court of Maryland," December 14, 2022
- ↑ Maryland Manual, "Court of Special Appeals: Origins and Functions," accessed April 21, 2015
- ↑ Maryland State Archives, "Joseph M. Getty," accessed July 14, 2021
- ↑ Maryland Manual Online, "Joseph M. Getty," accessed September 28, 2021
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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
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