The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland.
Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
Notable judges in this district include William Paca, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court.
Organization of the court
Under 28 U.S.C. § 100, Maryland consists of a single federal judicial district with two statutory divisions. The Southern Division includes Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's, and St. Mary's counties and sits in Greenbelt. The Northern Division includes Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester counties and sits in Baltimore, although the statute also provides for the court to sit in Cumberland and Denton.
Current judges
Vacancies and pending nominations
Former judges
Chief judges
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court, and preside over any panel on which they serve unless circuit judges are also on the panel. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
Succession of seats
U.S. Attorneys for the District of Maryland
- Richard Potts (1789â€"1792)
- Zebulon Hollingsworth (1792â€"1806)
- John Stephen (1806â€"1810)
- Thomas B. Dorsey (1810â€"1812)
- Elias Glenn (1812â€"1824)
- Nathaniel Williams (1824â€"1841)
- Z. Collins Lee (1841â€"1845)
- William L. Marshall (1845â€"1850)
- Z. Collins Lee (1850â€"1853)
- William M. Addison (1853â€"1862)
- William Price (1862â€"1865)
- William J. Jones (1865â€"1866)
- William Price (1866â€"1867)
- Andrew Sterett Ridgley (1867â€"1869)
- Archibald Stirling, Jr. (1869â€"1886)
- Thomas Gordon Hayes (1886â€"1890)
- John T. Ensor (1890â€"1894)
- William L. Marbury (1894â€"1898)
- John C. Rose (1898â€"1910)
- John P. Hill (1910â€"1915)
- Samuel K. Dennis (1915â€"1920)
- Robert R. Carman (1920â€"1922)
- Amos W. W. Woodcock (1922â€"1931)
- Simon E. Sobeloff (1931â€"1934)
- Bernard J. Flynn (1934â€"1953)
- George C. Doub (1953â€"1956)
- Walter E. Black, Jr. (1956â€"1957)
- Leon H. A. Pierson (1957â€"1961)
- Joseph D. Tydings (1961â€"1963)
- Robert H. Kernon (1963)
- Thomas J. Kenney (1963â€"1967)
- Stephen H. Sachs (1967â€"1970)
- George Beall (1970â€"1975)
- Jervis S. Finney (1975â€"1978)
- Russell T. Baker (1978â€"1981)
- Herbert Better* (1981)
- J. Frederick Motz (1981â€"1985)
- Catherine C. Blake* (1985â€"1986)
- Breckinridge L. Willcox (1986â€"1991)
- Richard D. Bennett (1991â€"1993)
- Gary P. Jordan* (1993)
- Lynne A. Battaglia (1993â€"2001)
- Stephen Schenning* (2001)
- Thomas M. DiBiagio (2001â€"2005)
- Allen F. Loucks* (2005)
- Rod J. Rosenstein (2005â€"2017)
- Stephen M. Schenning* (2017)
* designates interim U.S. Attorneys who served when there was no presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorney.
See also
- Courts of Maryland
- List of United States federal courthouses in Maryland
Sources
-  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Former Maryland United States Attorneys".
External links
- United States District Court for the District of Maryland Official Website
- United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Official Website