The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court,which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices,meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital,Annapolis. The term of the Court begins the second Monday of September. The Court is unique among American courts in that the justices wear red robes.
The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation;consequently,the government of Maryland,like the other 49 state governments,has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders,except as limited by the Constitution of the United States.
Robert Charles Murphy was a Maryland lawyer and jurist. He served as Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals,the state's highest court,from 1972 to October 9,1996,the same that day he turned 70 years old. Seventy is the Maryland State Constitution's mandatory retirement age for judges,which Murphy unsuccessfully attempted to raise to 75 years old. Murphy was 45 years old when he was appointed by then Governor Marvin Mandel,making Murphy the youngest chief judge in Maryland state history.
The Appellate Court of Maryland is the intermediate appellate court for the U.S. state of Maryland. The Appellate Court of Maryland was created in 1966 in response to the rapidly growing caseload in the Supreme Court of Maryland. Like the state's highest court,the tribunal meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital,Annapolis.
Lucy Haeran Koh is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Koh previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021. She also served as a California state court judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2008 to 2010. She is the first Korean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the United States.
Joseph F. Murphy Jr. was an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore,Maryland. Between December 17,2007,and September 30,2011,he was a judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals,the highest court in Maryland. Prior to this appointment,Murphy served as the Chief Judge of the Court of Special Appeals,Maryland's intermediate court of appeals. He was also an instructor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Mary Ellen Barbera is an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore,Maryland.
Shirley Marie Watts is an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore,Maryland. Since July 2013,she has served as a Judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals,the state's highest court. Watts is the first African American woman to serve as a judge on the Court of Appeals. Prior to her appointment,she was a judge on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals from 2011 to 2013 and an associate judge on the Baltimore City Circuit Court from 2002 to 2011.
Kathy Szeliga is an American politician who has served as a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates since January 12,2011,and as Minority Whip from 2013 to 2021. Szeliga was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 2016 to replace Barbara Mikulski,who retired.
Pamela Ann Harris is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to joining the federal bench,she was an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School,and visiting professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and executive director of its Supreme Court Institute.
William Hallam Tuck was a lawyer,judge and banker who served as a justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals from 1851 to 1861.
Elizabeth Lee "Lisa" Branch is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She was formerly a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals from 2012 to 2018.
Maria Araújo Kahn is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She previously served as an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 2017 to 2023.
Michele Denise Hotten is a senior judge of the Supreme Court of Maryland appointed by Governor Larry Hogan.
Brynja McDivitt Booth is an American lawyer who has served a justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland since 2019.
Steven Bennett Gould is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland since 2021. He served as a judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals from 2019 to 2021.
Matthew J. Fader is an American lawyer serving as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland since 2022. He previously served as the chief judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals from 2018 to 2022.
E. Gregory Wells is an American lawyer and judge from Maryland. He is the chief judge of the Appellate Court of Maryland.
