Seventeen apply for At-Large Vacancy on the Court of Special Appeals
This afternoon, the Administrative Office of the Courts released the list of seventeen applicants seeking to fill the open at-large seat on the Court of Special Appeals:
Honorable Krystal Quinn Alves, Circuit Court for Prince George’s County
Russell Paul Butler, Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, Inc. in Upper Marlboro
Kurt James Fischer, Venable LLP in Towson
Rickey Nelson Jones, Law Offices of Rickey Nelson Jones in Baltimore
Steven Michael Klepper, Kramon & Graham in Baltimore
James Bradford McCullough, Lerch, Early & Brewer in Bethesda
Honorable Erik Howard Nyce, District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County
Michael Patrick Redmond, Chief Solicitor of the Baltimore City Law Department
Eldridge Eugene Rice, Jr., from Randallstown
Steven Lee Tiedemann, Powell Recovery Center, Inc. in Baltimore
Tara Sky Woodward, Bradley Arant Boult & Cummings in Washington, D.C.
Terrence Mark Ranko Zic, Whiteford Taylor Preston in Rockville
**Honorable Judith Claibourne Ensor, Circuit Court for Baltimore County
**Honorable Lawrence Paul Fletcher-Hill, Circuit Court for Baltimore City
**Brian Scott Kleinbord, Office of the State’s Attorney for Montgomery County
**Rachel Theora McGuckian, Miles & Stockbridge in Rockville
**Phillip Robert Zuber, Sasscer Clagett & Bucher in Upper Marlboro
This vacancy was created by the recent retirement of Judge Alexander Wright, Jr. The list includes four trial judges and thirteen attorneys (including two Blog Editors, Steve Klepper and Brad McCullough, neither of whom participated in the preparation or publication of this post). The last five, marked by a double asterisk (**), are pool candidates, having received the Appellate Courts Nominating Commission’s nomination for a prior At-Large Court of Special Appeals vacancy within the past two years; pool candidates receive automatic consideration by the Governor. The remaining applicants will be interviewed by the commission, on February 4 and 5, 2020.
Live Webcast of the En Banc Fourth Circuit’s Oral Arguments in the Emoluments Case to Begin at 9 a.m. Today
Earlier this week, Blog Editor Derek Stikeleather wrote of In re Trump, the emoluments case brought against President Trump by the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Due to public interest, the oral arguments will be webcast live (audio only), starting at 9 a.m. this morning.
December 2019 Maryland Certiorari Grants
Happy holidays from the Maryland Appellate Blog! Yesterday, the Court of Appeals granted review in three criminal cases and five civil cases. One of the civil cases, MIA v. State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co., centers on uninsured motorist coverage and will be consolidated with a certified question raising the same issue. Read More…
The Fourth Circuit Emoluments Case Proceeds En Banc: A Non-Partisan Guide for Lawyers
On December 12, the en banc Fourth Circuit will re-hear oral argument in the “emoluments” case brought against President Trump by the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia. They allege that his ongoing business interests in the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. violate the Constitution’s Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses. In July, a three-judge panel of the court unanimously held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring a lawsuit to enforce the Emoluments Clauses, and it remanded the case to be dismissed with prejudice. In re Trump, 928 F.3d 360 (4th Cir. 2019). Despite the unanimous panel ruling, a majority of the court’s active (i.e., non-senior status) judges voted to allow rehearing en banc. 780 F. App’x 36 (4th Cir. 2019).
The case is genuinely newsworthy for many reasons. Read More…
Jonathan Biran Appointed to Court of Appeals
Today Governor Larry Hogan appointed Jonathan Biran to the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Biran will take the seat reserved for the Fifth Appellate Circuit (Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s Counties), replacing recently retired Judge Clayton Greene, Jr. This is the second time one of the blog’s original seven editors has been appointed to the state appellate courts.
Governor Hogan’s press release states: Read More…
Maryland Appellate Blog 