Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Maryland Court of Appeals justice vacancy (September 2021)
| Maryland Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Barbera vacancy |
| Date: September 10, 2021 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Steven Gould |
| Date: September 3, 2021 |
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) appointed Steven Gould to the Maryland Court of Appeals on September 3, 2021.[1] Gould succeeded Chief Justice Mary Ellen Barbera, who retired on September 10, 2021, upon reaching the state court's mandatory retirement age of 70 years. Gould was Gov. Hogan's fifth nominee to the seven-member supreme 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.[2][3]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Maryland Court of Appeals vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- 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 2021.
The appointee
- See also: Steven Gould
Steven Gould has served as a judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Gould was appointed to the court by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on March 12, 2019.[1] The Maryland State Senate confirmed the appointment on March 22, 2019.[4] Prior to becoming an appellate judge, Gould was a founding partner of Brown Gould Kiely, LLP, a law firm which he established in 1998.[5]
Gould earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 and a J.D., cum laude, from Boston University School of Law in 1992.[5]
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.[2][3]
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.[2]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Maryland Court of Appeals
Justices
Following Barbera's retirement, the Maryland Court of Appeals included the following members:
| ■ Brynja McDivitt Booth | Appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2019 | |
| ■ Robert N. McDonald | Appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) in 2011 | |
| ■ Joseph Getty | Appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2016 | |
| ■ 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 |
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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
About Chief Justice Barbera
- See also: Mary Ellen Barbera
Chief Justice Mary Ellen Barbera joined the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2008. She was appointed to the court by Governor Martin O'Malley (D).
Before serving on the state supreme court, Barbera served as a judge on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. She served as a law clerk for Judge Robert Karwacki of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in 1984, and in 1985 she became an assistant attorney general. From 1989 to 1998, Barbera worked for the Office of the Attorney General as the deputy chief of the Criminal Appeals Division. Barbera then served as legal counsel to the governor's office from 1998 until her appointment to the Court of Special Appeals.[9]
Barbera earned an undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Towson University in 1975. She earned a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1984.[9]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2021
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2021
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2021. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maryland.gov, "Governor Hogan Announces Judicial Appointments," September 3, 2021 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "appt" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Maryland," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Maryland Manual Online, APPELLATE COURTS JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION," February 28, 2020
- ↑ The Daily Record, "Senate confirms three judges to Md. appellate courts," March 22, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brown Gould Kiely, "Steven Gould," accessed March 27, 2019
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Maryland Manual On-Line, "Mary Ellen Barbera," accessed September 7, 2021
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
| |||||||
