Appellate Court of Maryland

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

Judges are appointed to serve 10-year terms by the governor of the state and must be confirmed by the Maryland Senate before taking office. At least one year after the appointment, judges must run in a retention election. If a judge is retained, he or she will serve another 10-year term. Maryland mandates that judges retire when they reach the age of 70.^[3]

Usually, judges hear and decide cases in three-person panels, although sometimes all 15 judges sit en banc. In February 2010, the Court of Appeals created an alternative dispute resolution division, in which cases are mediated rather than heard before the court. The chief judge of the Court of Appeals is the administrative head of this division. Every civil case filed with the court is first reviewed to see if it has potential to be mediated. When a case is mediated, both sides sit down with an objective third party who guides the parties to a resolution of the case without the need for judicial intervention.^[3][4]

• Published opinions of the Appellate Court of Maryland can be found here.

E. Gregory Wells was designated by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to serve as the chief judge on February 17, 2022.^[5]

 

Appellate Court of Maryland
Court information
Judges:	15
Founded:	1966
Location:	Annapolis, Md.
Salary:	Associates: $213,633[6]
Judicial selection
Method:	Assisted appointment with Senate confirmation
Term:	10 years

Judges

The judges of the Appellate Court of Maryland usually sit in panels of three to hear cases. A hearing with the full court is possible, but only on a majority vote of the sitting judges.

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Stephen Hughes Kehoe	April 11, 2024 - Present	Wes Moore
Michael Wilson Reed	March 18, 2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Rosalyn Tang	March 3, 2022 - Present	Larry Hogan
Kathryn Grill Graeff	September 2, 2008 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Dan Friedman	2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Anne Korbel Albright	April 20, 2022 - Present	Larry Hogan
Stuart R. Berger	2011 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Edward Gregory Wells	March 22, 2019 - Present	Larry Hogan
Terrence Zic	November 10, 2020 - Present	Larry Hogan
Andrea M. Leahy	2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Donald E. Beachley	2016 - Present	Larry Hogan
Kevin Arthur	2014 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Laura S. Ripken	January 11, 2021 - Present	Larry Hogan
Douglas R.M. Nazarian	January 1, 2013 - Present	Martin O'Malley
Melanie M. Shaw Geter	2016 - Present	Larry Hogan

Judicial circuits

There are eight judges elected at large and one judge elected from each of the state's seven appellate judicial circuits.^[3] The circuits are designated as follows:

Maryland Judicial Circuits
Circuit	Counties
1	Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico & Worcester counties
2	Baltimore County & Harford County
3	Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard & Washington counties
4	Prince George's County
5	Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's counties
6	Baltimore City
7	Montgomery County

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Maryland

The 15 judges of the Appellate Court of Maryland are selected through the assisted appointment method. The Maryland Judicial Nominating Commission is responsible for screening candidates and submitting a shortlist to the governor. This commission consists of 17 members appointed by the governor and the Maryland State Bar Association. The governor must appoint a judge from the commission's shortlist and the appointee must then be confirmed by the Maryland State Senate.^[7][8]

After serving for one year, judges must stand for retention in the next general election if they wish to remain on the court. If retained, a judge wins a full ten-year term.^[7]

The court's name changed from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to the Appellate Court of Maryland, following a ballot initiative that voters approved in November 2022.^[2]

Qualifications

To join either of these courts, a judge must be:

• a U.S. and state citizen;
• a registered state voter;
• a state resident for at least five years;
• a resident of the geographic area where the vacancy exists for at least six months;
• a state bar member;
• at least 30 years old; and
• under the age of 70 (retirement at 70 is mandatory).^[7]

Chief judge

The chief judge of the court is designated by the governor to serve indefinite terms.^[7]

Vacancies

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year and then stands for retention at the next general election. If retained, a judge wins a full term of ten years.^[7]

Salary

In 2024, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $213,633, according to the National Center for State Courts.^[9]

Elections

2024

See also: Maryland intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

The terms of five Maryland intermediate appellate court judges expired on December 31, 2024. The five seats were up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was August 5, 2024.

Judges with expiring terms

At-large seats

1st Appellate Circuit

2nd Appellate Circuit

6th Appellate Circuit

2022

See also: Maryland intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

The terms of four Maryland intermediate appellate court judges expired on December 31, 2022. The four seats were up for retention election on November 8, 2022.

Candidates and election results

At-large

Berger's seat

Zic's seat

5th Appellate Circuit

Ripken's seat

7th Appellate Circuit

Tang's seat

2020

See also: Maryland intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

This is a list of the justices who had to stand for retention election in 2020 in order to remain on the bench. Justices could choose not to stand for election.

Candidates and results

At-large seat

Well's seat

General election candidates

• Edward Gregory Wells  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

1st Appellate Circuit

Kehoe's seat

General election candidates

• Christopher B. Kehoe  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

3rd Appellate Circuit

Graeff's seat

General election candidates

• Kathryn Grill Graeff  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

7th Appellate Circuit

Gould's seat

General election candidates

• Steven Gould  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

2018

See also: Maryland intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

Candidates and results

At-large District

Beachley's seat

General election candidates

• Donald E. Beachley  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

Fader's seat

General election candidates

• Matthew Fader  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

Fourth District

Geter's seat

General election candidates

• Melanie M. Shaw Geter  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

2016

Judges who faced retention

■ Timothy Meredith
■ Patrick Woodward
■ Dan Friedman

Election results

November 8 general election

Timothy Meredith was retained in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Meredith's Seat election with 80.15% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Meredith's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Timothy Meredith	80.15%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Patrick Woodward was retained in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Woodward's Seat election with 87.69% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Woodward's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Patrick Woodward	87.69%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Dan Friedman was retained in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Friedman's Seat election with 82.85% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Friedman's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Dan Friedman	82.85%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

2014

Retention

Judge	Election Vote
Michael Wilson Reed	87.8%
Douglas R. M. Nazarian	79.3%

Retention

Judge	Election Vote
Kevin Francis Arthur	84.8%
Andrea M. Leahy-Fucheck	85.8%

2012
Candidate Incumbency Position Primary Vote Election Vote Michele D. Hotten    Yes     Shirley Marie Watts    Yes     Stuart R. Berger    Yes At-large

Ethics

The Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Maryland. It is composed of four sections containing rules and guidance on how to interpret the rules:

• Section 1: "Rules Governing Judicial Integrity and the Avoidance of Impropriety (Rules 1.1 through 1.3)"
• Section 2: "Rules Governing the Performance of Judicial Duties (Rules 2.1 through 2.16)"
• Section 3: "Rules Governing Non-Judicial Activities (Rules 3.1 through 3.15)"
• Section 4: "Rules Governing Political Activity (Rules 4.1 through 4.6)"^[10]

The full text of the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

There are four processes for taking judges in Maryland off the bench:

• Removal by the governor, who must address the general assembly and secure the concurrence of two thirds of the members of each house.
• Retirement by the general assembly, after a two-thirds vote of each house and the governor's concurrence.
• Impeachment by a majority of the house of delegates, plus conviction by two thirds of the senate.
• Removal or retirement by the court of appeals on the recommendation of the commission on judicial disabilities.^[11]

History

The Appellate Court of Maryland is the modern-day equivalent of the Maryland General Court, which was formed during the Revolutionary War. That court heard appeals from county courts in Maryland and served as an intermediate court. There were two sections of the court, the Western Shore and the Eastern Shore, that split the caseload by geography.^[12]

Upon the abolition of the General Court in 1806, however, the only appellate court in Maryland was the Maryland Supreme Court, the court of last resort. There was no intermediate appellate court. In 1966, the Maryland Legislature created the Court of Appeals as an intermediate appellate court to help with the Maryland Supreme Court's caseload.^[3]

Budget

In 2014, the Court of Appeals spent $9,937,230. Its anticipated 2015 expenditures totaled $10,535,044.^[13]

State profile

Demographic data for Maryland
	Maryland	U.S.
Total population:	5,994,983	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	9,707	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	57.6%	73.6%
Black/African American:	29.5%	12.6%
Asian:	6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	3%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	89.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	37.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$74,551	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	10.7%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Maryland. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Maryland

Maryland voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More Maryland coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Maryland
• United States congressional delegations from Maryland
• Public policy in Maryland
• Endorsers in Maryland
• Maryland fact checks
• More...

See also

Maryland	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Maryland Maryland Supreme Court Maryland Court of Appeals	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Maryland	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Maryland Courts, "Appellate Court of Maryland"
• Maryland State Archives, "Organizational chart of the Court of Appeals"
• Maryland State Archives, "Appointments to the Court of Special Appeals:"
• Maryland Judiciary

Footnotes