Trial court judges make decisions over the most consequential issues in our clients’ lives.
Were you at fault in your automobile accident case, and if not, how much in damages should you be awarded?
Will you have custody of your child, and what will that custody schedule look like? How much child support will you pay or receive?
Will you be removed as the Trustee of a trust?
While we are often asked by our clients for information about the presiding judge who will be making these decisions, there is a more fundamental question to ask. How does someone become a trial court judge in Maryland?
The District Court of Maryland
The District Court of Maryland handles small claims cases, civil cases (such as automobile accident and contract cases) where damages sought are under $30,000.00, landlord-tenant matters, misdemeanor criminal cases, red-light and speeding camera matters, traffic court matters, and municipal infractions.
Applicants to the District Court must submit their application to the Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commission for the county where they are applying to sit as a judge. The application is lengthy, requiring the judicial applicant to disclose nearly every aspect of their personal and professional lives. The applicant must also include personal and professional references and writing samples.
Before the District Court applicant interviews with the Trial Court Commission, they are first interviewed by various state, local, and specialty bar associations. The local and specialty bar associations decide which applicants to endorse to the Trial Court Commission.
After the many interviews with local and state bar associations (colloquially referred to as “the gauntlet”), the applicant interviews with the Trial Court Commission. The Trial Court Commission is a panel of attorneys and non-attorneys appointed by the Governor. The Trial Court Commission does a deep dive into the applicant’s application and references, vetting the applicant. Following the Trial Court Commission’s vetting and interview process, the Commission will identify those applicants it feels are most highly qualified to hold judicial office. Only these candidates will then interview with the Governor. While the Governor does not have to select from the list suggested by the Commission, as a matter of practice, it is highly unusual for the Governor to select someone who is not on this list.
Once appointed by the Governor, the judge-designate is subject to confirmation by the Maryland State Senate. Upon confirmation, the attorney is now a judge of the District Court of Maryland. The new judge serves for a ten-year term and may be reappointed to subsequent ten-year terms by approval of the Senate.
The Circuit Court of Maryland
The Circuit Court of Maryland is a trial court of “general jurisdiction” handling everything that the District Court does not handle, including any matter heard by a jury, all family law matters, guardianships, felony criminal matters, civil disputes where over $30,000.00 in damages is being sought, and disputes over business ownership and trusts. Some Circuit Courts also sit as the “Orphans Court of Maryland,” hearing contested estate matters.
Applicants to the Circuit Court go through the same extensive application, vetting, and interview process as applicants to the District Court. Applicants to the Circuit Court are appointed by the Governor, almost always from among the candidates the Trial Court Nominating Commission finds most qualified to hold judicial office.
Once appointed by the Governor, the judge-designate is sworn in as a Circuit Court judge and may serve until the next even-year Congressional election.
In the next Congressional election following his/her appointment, the sitting circuit court judge must then run as a candidate for judge to retain his/her seat in a non-partisan judicial election.
If successful, the circuit court judge is then appointed for a fifteen-year term. At the conclusion of this term, the judge may run for retention.
The “Sitting Judge Principle”
Incredibly, as a quirk of the Maryland constitution, aspiring attorneys can run for a judgeship on the Circuit Court and skip the entire vetting and appointment process.
Any Maryland lawyer who meets relatively basic residency requirements can pay a nominal filing fee and run for a judgeship against a sitting circuit court judge who has gone through the vetting and appointment process. If successful in the election, the challenger will unseat the sitting circuit court judge and serve a full fifteen-year term.
The nonpartisan “sitting judge principle” is the principle followed by most Maryland attorneys, whereby we regularly support sitting judges running in a contested election to retain their seat against challengers who had the opportunity to go through the vetting and appointment process but chose to bypass this process and run for election. As attorneys, we are aware of the significance of the matters heard by our circuit court judges, the complexity of these decisions, and prefer to appear before judges who go through a rigorous vetting and appointment process.
Bulman Dunie attorneys regularly sit on local and state commissions interviewing and vetting judicial candidates, and are strong supporters of our sitting judges in contested judicial elections. Partner Meg Rosan presently chairs the Montgomery County Bar Association Judicial Selection Committee, and partner Dan Shaivitz is one of the attorneys leading the Elect Sitting Judges Montgomery County Slate in the 2026 election. If you ever have questions about Maryland courts, Maryland judges, or who will be presiding over your case, reach out to any of the Bulman Dunie attorneys. We will be glad to chat!
