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Peter Messitte
Peter Jo Messitte was an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. He joined the court in 1993 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. He served on senior status from 2008 until 2025.[1] His service ended on January 11, 2025, upon his death.[2]
Early life and education
A native of Washington, D.C., Messitte graduated from Amherst College with his bachelor's degree in 1963 and later graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with his J.D. degree in 1966.[1]
Professional career
Messitte after law school became a volunteer in the Peace Corps from 1966 to 1968 before entering private practice in the District of Columbia from 1969 to 1971 and in the State of Maryland from 1971 to 1985. Messitte became an Associate Circuit Court Judge in Montgomery County from 1985 to 1993.
Judicial career
District of Maryland
Messitte was nominated by President Bill Clinton on August 6, 1993 to a seat vacated by Joseph Howard as Howard went on senior status. Messitte was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 18, 1993 on a senate vote and received commission on October 20, 1993. Messitte assumed senior status on September 1, 2008.[1] His service ended on January 11, 2025, upon his death.[2]
Noteworthy cases
Messitte denies Trump's motion to dismiss emoluments suit (2018)
On July 25, 2018, a federal judge denied Trump's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he had violated the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the United States Constitution. Judge Peter Messitte ruled that the plaintiffs, the attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia, had "plausibly alleged that the President has been receiving or is potentially able to receive 'emoluments' from foreign, the federal and state governments in violation of the Constitution." Messitte's ruling was the first made by a federal court establishing a definition of emolument. Messitte defined emolument as any "'profit,' 'gain,' or 'advantage.'" Messitte rejected the definition proffered by the United States Department of Justice, which construed an emolument as "a payment made in connection with a particular employment over and above one's salary." Messitte ordered the parties to the suit to submit a joint recommendation to the court within 21 days indicating the next steps to be taken in the case.[3][4][5]
The Foreign Emoluments Clause stipulates that "no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State." The Domestic Emoluments Clause provides that the president "shall not receive within that Period [i.e., the term of office] any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them."[6][7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Judge Messitte's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Judicial Center, "Messitte, Peter Jo," accessed February 6, 2025
- ↑ NPR, "Federal Lawsuit Against President Trump's Business Interests Allowed To Proceed," July 25, 2018
- ↑ American Bar Association, "How Courts Work: Steps in a Trial: Discovery," accessed July 30, 2018
- ↑ United States District Court for the District of Maryland, "District of Columbia v. Trump: Opinion," July 25, 2018
- ↑ United States Constitution, "Article I, Section 9," accessed July 30, 2018
- ↑ United States Constitution, "Article II, Section 2," accessed July 30, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joseph Clemens Howard |
United States District Court for the District of Maryland 2008-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the District of Maryland 1993-2008 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 |
Adams • Ambrose • Barnes • Brinkema • Bucklew • Chasanow • Coffman • Daughtrey • Ferguson • Ginsburg • Hagen • Jackson • Lancaster • Leval • Lindsay • Messitte • Michael • Piersol • Saris • Schwartz • Seybert • Shanahan • Shaw • Stearns • Trager • Vazquez • Wilken • Wilson | ||
| 1994 |
Baer • Barkett • Batts • Beaty • Benavides • Bennett • Berrigan • Biery • Block • Borman • Breyer • Briones • Bryson • Bucklo • Burgess • Burrage • Cabranes • Calabresi • Carr • Casellas • Castillo • Chatigny • Chin • Cindrich • Coar • Collins • Cooper • Cote • Currie • Davis • Dominguez • Downes • Duval • Friedman • Furgeson • Garcia • Gertner • Gettleman • Gillmor • Gilmore • Gleeson • Haggerty • Hamilton • Hannah • Hawkins • Henry • Holmes • Hood • Hull • Hurley • Jack • Jones • Jones • Kaplan • Katz • Kern • Kessler • Koeltl • Lisi • Manning • McKee • McLaughlin • Melancon • Miles-LaGrange • Moore • Motz • Murphy • O'Malley • O'Meara • Oliver • Paez • B. Parker • F. Parker • R. Parker • Perry • Ponsor • Pooler • Porteous • Rendell • Riley • Robertson • Rogers • Ross • Russell • Sands • Sarokin • Scheindlin • Silver • Squatrito • Stewart • Sullivan • Tatel • Thompson • Timlin • Urbina • Vanaskie • Vance • Walls • Wells • Williams | ||
| 1995 |
Arterton • Atlas • Black • Blake • Briscoe • Tena Campbell • Todd Campbell • Chesney • Cole • Collier • Daniel • Davis • Dennis • Dlott • Donald • Duffy • Economus • Evans • Fallon • Folsom • Gaughan • Goodwin • Heartfield • Hunt • Illston • Jones • King • Kornmann • Lawson • Lenard • Lucero • Lynch • McKinley • Moody • Moore • Moskowitz • Murphy • Murtha • Nugent • O'Toole • Orlofsky • Pogue • Sessions • C. Smith • O. Smith • Stein • Thornburg • Tunheim • Wallach • Wardlaw • Webber • Whaley • Winmill • Wood | ||
| 1996 |
Broadwater • Clevert • Fenner • Gershon • Gottschall • Greenaway • Hinkle • Jones • Kahn • Laughrey • Lemmon • Marten • Miller • Molloy • Montgomery • Pregerson • Rakoff • Sargus • Tashima • Thomas • Zapata | ||
| 1997 |
Adelman • Bataillon • Breyer • Caputo • Casey • Chambers • Clay • Damrell • Droney • Friedman • Gajarsa • Garland • Gilman • Gold • Gwin • Hall • Hayden • Hull • Ishii • Jenkins • Kauffman • Kennedy • Kimball • Kollar-Kotelly • Lazzara • Marbley • Marcus • Middlebrooks • Miller • Moon • Pratt • Rendell • Sippel • Siragusa • Snyder • Thrash | ||
| 1998 |
Aiken • Barbier • Barzilay • Berman • Buttram • Carter • Collins • Dawson • Dimitrouleas • Fletcher • Fogel • Frank • Graber • Hellerstein • Herndon • James • Johnson • Kane • Kelly • G. King • R. King • Lasnik • Lee • Lemelle • Lindsay • Lipez • Manella • Matz • McCuskey • McKeown • McMahon • Mickle • Mollway • Mordue • Moreno • Morrow • Munley • Murphy • Pallmeyer • Pauley • Polster • Pooler • Rawlinson • Ridgway • R. Roberts • V. Roberts • Sack • Scott • Seitz • Seymour • Shea • Silverman • Sleet • Sotomayor • Steeh • Story • Straub • Tagle • Tarnow • Trauger • Traxler • Tyson • Wardlaw • Whelan • Young | ||
| 1999 |
Alsup • Barry • Brown • Buchwald • Cooper • Eaton • Ellison • Feess • Fisher • Gould • Guzman • Haynes • Hibbler • Hochberg • Hurd • Huvelle • Jordan • Katzmann • Kennelly • Linn • Lorenz • Lynn • Marrero • Murguia • Pannell • Pechman • Pepper • Phillips • Schreier • Stewart • Underhill • Ward • Williams • Wilson | ||
| 2000 |
Ambro • Antoon • Battani • Berzon • Bolton • Brady • Bye • Cavanaugh • Daniels • Darrah • Dawson • Dyk • Fuentes • Garaufis • Garcia-Gregory • Hamilton • Huck • Hunt • Lawson • Lefkow • Lynch • Martin • McLaughlin • Moody • Murguia • Paez • Pisano • Presnell • Rawlinson • Reagan • Schiller • Singal • Steele • Surrick • Swain • Tallman • Teilborg • Tucker • Whittemore | ||
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
