Governor Moore’s First At-Large ACM Vacancy

By Steve Klepper (Bluesky @mdappeal)

The Maryland Courts website shows an upcoming vacancy, Appellate Court of Maryland (At Large), for the Retirement of the Honorable Donald E. Beachley. Judge Beachley does not reach mandatory retirement age until later this year, but it appears he is retiring a few months early.

This appellate vacancy will be just the third in Governor Moore’s three years in office. His prior appointees were in 2024: Justice Peter Killough to the Supreme Court of Maryland, 4th Appellate Judicial Circuit (Prince George’s County), and Judge Stephen Kehoe to the Appellate Court of Maryland, 1st Appellate Judicial Circuit (Eastern Shore).

This vacancy is at-large, meaning that Governor Moore may appoint lawyers or judges from anywhere in the State. This vacancy is the first opportunity since 2014 for a Democratic governor to fill an at-large vacancy. It would not be surprising if dozens of lawyers and trial judges were to apply, perhaps more than the 25 applicants for the first at-large vacancy that opened under Governor Hogan in 2015.

No application deadline has been set. The nominees pool includes Honorable Brenda Alverta Sexton and Magistrate Mark Andrew Tyler, who were finalists for the Appellate Court seat that went to Judge Kehoe.

Editor’s Note: Because Diane Feuerherd is a member of the Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission, she is not participating in the blog’s coverage of appellate judicial nominations.