Maryland Court of Special Appeals

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The Maryland Court of Special Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in Maryland. The Court of Special Appeals was created in 1966 in response to the rapidly-growing caseload in the Maryland Court of Appeals. Like the state's highest court, the tribunal meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals originally could hear only criminal cases. However, its jurisdiction has expanded so that it now considers any reviewable judgment, decree, order, or other action of the circuit and orphans’ courts, unless otherwise provided by law. Judges sitting on the Court of Special Appeals generally hear and decide cases in panels of three. In some instances, however, all 13 judges may listen to a case, known as an en banc hearing.

• Court
• Elections

Maryland Court of Special Appeals
Court information
Judges:	13
Judicial selection
Method:	Commission-selection, political appointment with Senate confirmation
Term:	10 years
Active judges
Peter Krauser  •  Deborah S. Eyler  •  Timothy Meredith  •  Patrick Woodward  •  Robert Zarnoch  •  Alexander Wright  •  Albert Matricciani  •  Kathryn Graeff  •  Christopher Kehoe  •  Michele D. Hotten  •  Stuart R. Berger  •  Shirley Marie Watts  •  Douglas R. M. Nazarian  •

Judges

Judge	Term	Division	Appointed by	Party
Chief Judge Peter Krauser	2007-present	At-large
Judge Deborah S. Eyler	1997-present	At-large
Judge Timothy Meredith	2004-present	5th Appellate Circuit
Judge Patrick Woodward	2005-present	7th Appellate Circuit
Judge Robert Zarnoch	2008-present	At-large
Judge Alexander Wright	2008-present	At-large
Judge Albert Matricciani	2008-present	At-large
Judge Kathryn Graeff	2008-present	3rd Appellate Circuit
Judge Christopher Kehoe	2009-present	1st Appellate Circuit
Judge Michele D. Hotten	2010-2012	4th Appellate Circuit	Gov. Martin O'Malley
Judge Stuart R. Berger	2011-2022	At-large	Gov. Martin O'Malley
Judge Shirley Marie Watts	2011-2012	6th Appellate Circuit	Gov. Martin O'Malley
Judge Douglas R. M. Nazarian	2013-present

Appointment and qualifications

The thirteen judges of the Court of Appeals are appointed by the Governor of Maryland with Maryland State Senate consent. They serve ten-year terms.

The Judges of the court are required to be citizens of and qualified voters in Maryland. Prior to their appointment, they must have resided in Maryland for at least five years, and for at least six months in the appellate judicial circuit from which they are appointed. They must be at least thirty years of age at the time of appointment, and must have been admitted to practice law in Maryland. Appointees should be "most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound legal knowledge."

After initial appointment by the Governor and confirmation by the Senate, members of the court, at the first general election occurring at least one year after the position was vacated, run for continuance in office on their records without opposition. If the voters reject the retention in office of a judge, or the vote is tied, the office becomes vacant. Otherwise, the incumbent judge is retained in office for a ten-year term. This requirement of voter approval is similar to provisions in the Missouri Plan, a non-partisan method for selecting judges which is used by 11 states.

There are six at large judges and one judge from each of the state's seven Appellate Judicial Circuits; the latter are required to be a resident of his or her respective circuit. The circuits are currently as follows:

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

External links

• Homepage for the Court of Special Appeals
• Maryland Judiciary homepage

References

Portions of this article have been taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Copyright Notice can be found here.

2012

To organize the columns, click on the arrows in the column heading.

Candidate	Incumbency	Position	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HottenMichele D. Hotten   A	Yes	4th Appellate Circuit		A
WattsShirley Marie Watts   A	Yes	6th Appellate Circuit		A
BergerStuart R. Berger   A	Yes	At-large		A