Adam Abelson

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Tenure

2024 - Present

Years in position

1

Predecessor:James Bredar (Nonpartisan)

Prior offices:

United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Years in office: 2023 - 2024

Predecessor:Beth Gesner (Nonpartisan)

Education

Bachelor's

Princeton University

Law

New York University School of Law

Contact

Official website

Adam Abelson is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland. He was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on May 14, 2024, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on September 10, 2024, by a vote of 53-43.^[1][2][3] Abelson was one of 235Article III judges nominated by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed byJoe Biden,click here.

TheUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland is one of 94U.S. District Courts. They are the generaltrial courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the court,click here.

Prior to joining the court, Abelson was afederal magistrate judge for theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland. He joined the court on September 18, 2023.^[3][4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Maryland (2024-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On May 14, 2024, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Abelson to theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland.^[2] Abelson received commission on September 12, 2024.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Adam Abelson
Court:United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Progress
Confirmed 119 days after nomination.
ANominated: May 14, 2024
AABA Rating: Well Qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: June 5, 2024
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: July 11, 2024
AConfirmed: September 10, 2024
AVote: 53-43

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Abelson by a vote of 53-43 on September 10, 2024.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Abelson confirmation vote (September 10, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	1
Republican	3	43	3
Independent	4	0	0
Total	53[5]	43	4

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Vacca's nomination on June 5, 2024.^[2] Abelson was reported to the full Senate on July 11, 2024, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[6]Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On May 14, 2024, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Abelson to theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland.^[2]

TheAmerican Bar Association (ABA) rated Abelsonwell qualified.^[7] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Abelson was nominated to replace JudgeJames Bredar, who assumed senior status on April 30, 2024.^[8]

Biography

Early life and education

Abelson was born inShaker Heights, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 2005 and a law degree from New York University School of Law in 2010.^[1]

Professional career

• 2024-present: Judge,United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• 2023-2024:Federal magistrate judge,United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• 2014-2023: Private practice, Baltimore, Maryland
• 2012-2014: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
• 2011-2012: Law clerk, Hon. Andre M. Davis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• 2010-2011: Law clerk, Hon. Catherine C. Blake, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland^[1]

About the court

District of Maryland
Fourth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 10
Judges: 10
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:George L. Russell, III
Active judges:Adam Abelson,Deborah Boardman,Theodore Chuang,Stephanie A. Gallagher,Lydia Kay Griggsby,Brendan Hurson,Matthew Maddox,Julie Rubin,George L. Russell III,Paula Xinis Senior judges: Richard Bennett,Catherine Blake,James Bredar,Deborah Chasanow,Ellen Hollander,William Nickerson

TheUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland is one of 94United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit based in downtownRichmond, Virginia, at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

The District of Maryland hasoriginal jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are two court divisions, each covering the following counties:

TheBaltimore (Northern) Division, coveringAllegany,Anne Arundel,Baltimore,Baltimore City,Caroline,Carroll,Cecil,Dorchester,Frederick,Garrett,Harford,Howard,Kent,Queen Anne's,Somerset,Talbot,Washington,Wicomico, andWorcester counties

TheGreenbelt (Southern) Division, coveringCalvert,Charles,Montgomery,Prince George's, andSt. Mary's counties

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by theSenate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends ablue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

See also

• United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit

External links

Suggest a link

• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
• Biography from theFederal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland
Active judges	Chief Judge: George L. Russell, III  •  Julie Rubin  •  Theodore Chuang  •  Stephanie A. Gallagher  •  Lydia Kay Griggsby  •  Paula Xinis  •  Deborah Boardman  •  Matthew Maddox  •  Brendan Hurson  •  Adam Abelson
Senior judges	Richard Bennett (Maryland)  •  Catherine Blake  •  William M. Nickerson  •  Deborah Chasanow  •  Ellen Hollander  •  James Bredar  •
Magistrate judges	Charles Day  •  Susan Gauvey  •  Jillyn Schulze  •  Timothy J. Sullivan  •  C. Bruce Anderson  •  David Copperthite  •  Mark Coulson  •  Gina Simms  •
Former Article III judges	Alexander Williams  •  William Paca  •  James Winchester  •  James Houston  •  Theodorick Bland  •  Elias Glenn  •  Upton Scott Heath  •  John Glenn (Maryland)  •  William Fell Giles  •  Thomas John Morris  •  Paul Niemeyer  •  John Carter Rose (Maryland)  •  Benson Legg  •  Walter Black  •  Andre Davis  •  Marvin Garbis  •  Alex Harvey  •  William Quarles  •  Roger Titus  •  Peter Messitte  •  Joseph Young (Maryland)  •  Morris Ames Soper  •  William Caldwell Coleman  •  William Calvin Chesnut  •  Joseph Clemens Howard  •  Harrison Winter  •  Charles Blair  •  John Hargrove  •  Shirley Jones  •  Frank Kaufman  •  James Rogers Miller Jr. (Federal judge)  •  Herbert Murray  •  Edward Northrop  •  Norman Ramsey  •  Roszel Thomsen  •  Robert Watkins  •  Frederic Smalkin  •  Paul Grimm  •  George Jarrod Hazel  •
Former Chief judges	Benson Legg  •  Catherine Blake  •  Walter Black  •  Alex Harvey  •  Frederick Motz  •  William Caldwell Coleman  •  Frank Kaufman  •  Edward Northrop  •  Roszel Thomsen  •  Robert Watkins  •  Frederic Smalkin  •  James Bredar  •

v • e Federal judges nominated to Article III courts byJoe Biden
Commissioned in 2025	Keli Neary
Commissioned in 2024	John Kazen •John Russell •Margaret Garnett •Cristal Brisco •Jacquelyn Austin •Gretchen Hess Lund •Micah Smith •Joshua Kolar •Karoline Mehalchick •Kirk Sherriff •Lisa Wang •David Leibowitz •Jacqueline Becerra •Julie Sneed •Melissa Damian •Kelly H. Rankin •Nicole Berner •Sunil Harjani •Leon Schydlower •Ernesto Gonzalez •Susan Bazis •Robert White •Ann Marie McIff Allen •Eumi Lee •Krissa Lanham •Eric Schulte •Camela Theeler •Angela Martinez •Jasmine Yoon •Nancy Maldonado •Meredith Vacca •Georgia Alexakis •Joseph Saporito •Amy Baggio •Stacey Neumann •Mary Kay Lanthier •Adam Abelson •Laura Provinzino •Mary Kay Costello •Dena Coggins •Kevin Ritz •Shanlyn A. S. Park •Byron Conway •Jeannette Vargas •Michelle Williams Court •Jonathan E. Hawley •April Perry •Mustafa Kasubhai •Sarah Russell •Amir Ali •Rebecca Pennell •Anthony Brindisi •Elizabeth Coombe •Cynthia Valenzuela •Anne Hwang •Brian Murphy •Noël Wise •Sanket Bulsara •Tiffany Johnson •Sparkle Sooknanan •Gail Weilheimer •Embry Kidd •Melissa DuBose •Sharad Desai •Serena R. Murillo •Benjamin Cheeks •Sarah Davenport
Commissioned in 2023	Kai Scott •Tamika Montgomery-Reeves •Margaret R. Guzman •Daniel Calabretta •Matthew Garcia •DeAndrea G. Benjamin •Cindy Chung •Adrienne Nelson •Lindsay Jenkins •Gina Méndez-Miró •Araceli Martínez-Olguín •Jamar Walker •Ana Reyes •Jamal Whitehead •Gordon Gallagher •Matthew Brookman•Maria Araujo Kahn• James Simmons •Robert Ballou• Andrew Schopler •Jonathan Grey•Colleen Lawless •Arun Subramanian •Jessica Clarke •Robert Kirsch •Michael Farbiarz •Anthony Johnstone •Orelia Merchant •Wesley Hsu •Bradley Garcia •LaShonda A. Hunt •Nancy Gbana Abudu •Amanda Brailsford •Darrel Papillion •Jeremy Daniel •Hernan D. Vera •Julie Rikelman •Nusrat Choudhury •P. Casey Pitts •Myong Joun •Kymberly Evanson •Tiffany Cartwright •Rachel Bloomekatz •Natasha Merle •Dale Ho •Philip Hadji •Rita Lin •Brendan Hurson •Vernon D. Oliver •Matthew Maddox •Julia Munley •Brandy McMillion •Susan DeClercq •Julia Kobick •Ramon Reyes, Jr. •Ana de Alba •Kenly Kiya Kato •Mónica Ramírez Almadani •Jeffrey M. Bryan •Jamel Semper •Irma Ramirez •Richard Federico •Loren AliKhan •Brandon Long •Jerry Edwards Jr.•Sara Hill •Joseph Laroski
Commissioned in 2022	David Herrera Urias •Gabriel Sanchez •Holly Thomas •Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong •David Ruiz •Charles Fleming •Bridget Brennan •Leonard Stark •Alison J. Nathan •John Chun •Julie Rubin •Jacqueline Scott Corley •Ruth Bermudez Montenegro •Victoria Calvert •Georgette Castner •Anne Traum •Cristina Silva •Ketanji Brown Jackson (Supreme Court) •Sarah Geraghty •Hector Gonzalez •Fred Slaughter •Jennifer Rochon •Robert Huie •Sunshine S. Sykes • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Evelyn Padin • Sherilyn P. Garnett • Ana de Alba • J. Michelle Childs • Trina Thompson • Elizabeth Hanes • Nancy Maldonado • Nina Morrison • Gregory Williams • John Z. Lee • Sal Mendoza, Jr. • Lara Montecalvo • Florence Pan • Andre Mathis • Sarah A.L. Merriam •Jennifer Rearden • Roopali Desai • María Antongiorgi-Jordán • Camille Vélez-Rivé • Doris Pryor • Frances Kay Behm • Dana Douglas • Mia Roberts Perez • Anne Nardacci •Jeffery P. Hopkins
Commissioned in 2021	Ketanji Brown Jackson • Zahid Quraishi •Julien Xavier Neals • Deborah Boardman • Regina Rodriguez • Candace Jackson-Akiwumi • Lydia Kay Griggsby • Tiffany Cunningham • Eunice Lee • Angel Kelley •Florence Pan •Veronica Rossman • David G. Estudillo • Sarah A.L. Merriam •Gustavo Gelpí • Christine O'Hearn •Margaret Strickland • Karen McGlashan Williams •Patricia Tolliver Giles • Toby Heytens •Michael Nachmanoff •Sarala Nagala • Beth Robinson • Omar A. Williams • Myrna Pérez • Jia Cobb • Tana Lin • Lauren King • Lucy H. Koh • Jennifer Sung • Samantha Elliott • Katherine Menendez • Mary Dimke • Linda Lopez • Shalina Kumar • Jane Beckering • Jinsook Ohta • Jennifer L. Thurston •Stephen Locher •Charlotte Sweeney •Nina Nin-Yuen Wang •Arianna Freeman •Jerry Blackwell