Maryland Supreme Court
Barbera vacancy
Date: September 10, 2021
Status: Seat filled
Nomination
Nominee: Steven Gould
Date: September 3, 2021

Maryland GovernorLarry Hogan (R) appointedSteven Gould to theMaryland Court of Appeals on September 3, 2021.^[1] Gould succeeded Chief JusticeMary Ellen Barbera, who retired on September 10, 2021, upon reaching the state court's mandatory retirement age of 70 years. Gould was Gov. Hogan's fifth nominee to the seven-member supreme court.

At the time of the vacancy under Maryland law, judges of theMaryland Court of Appeals were selected through theassisted appointment method. TheMaryland Judicial Nominating Commission screened candidates and submitted a shortlist to the governor. The governor would appoint a judge from the list and the appointee had to be confirmed by theMaryland State Senate.^[2][3]

Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Maryland Court of Appeals vacancy:

• An overview of theappointee.
• An overview of theselection process.
• An overview of thecourt following the vacancy.
• An overview of thejustice who left office.
• A list ofother state supreme court appointments in 2021.

The appointee

See also:Steven Gould

Steven Gould has served as a judge of theMaryland Court of Special Appeals. Gould was appointed to the court by Gov.Larry Hogan (R) on March 12, 2019.^[1] TheMaryland State Senate confirmed the appointment on March 22, 2019.^[4] Prior to becoming an appellate judge, Gould was a founding partner of Brown Gould Kiely, LLP, a law firm which he established in 1998.^[5]

Gould earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 and aJ.D.,cum laude, from Boston University School of Law in 1992.^[5]

The selection process

See also:Judicial selection in Maryland

At the time of the vacancy, theseven judges of theMaryland Court of Appeals were selected through theassisted appointment method. TheMaryland Judicial Nominating Commission would screen candidates and submit a shortlist to the governor. The governor had to appoint a judge from the list and the appointee had to then be confirmed by theMaryland State Senate.^[2][3]

After serving for one year, judges would stand forretention in the next general election if they wished to remain on the court. If retained, a judge would win a full ten-year term.^[2]

Makeup of the court

See also:Maryland Court of Appeals

Justices

Following Barbera's retirement, the Maryland Court of Appeals included the following members:

About the court

TheAppellate Court of Maryland is theintermediate appellate court inMaryland. The court was established in 1966 to assist theMaryland Supreme Court with the appellate caseload. It is located in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in Annapolis, Md. Unless the law states otherwise, the Court of Appeals considers any reviewable judgment, decree, order or other action of the circuit and orphans' courts.^[6]

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals became the Appellate Court of Maryland, following a2022 constitutional amendment that changed the court's name. Prior to 2022, theMaryland Supreme Court was known as the Maryland Court of Appeals.^[7]

The Appellate Court of Maryland has exclusive initial appellate jurisdiction to review judgments and orders issued by any of the state's circuit or orphans' courts. The lone exception is cases involving the death penalty; those go straight to theMaryland Supreme Court.^[8]

About Chief Justice Barbera

See also:Mary Ellen Barbera

Chief JusticeMary Ellen Barbera joined theMaryland Court of Appeals in 2008. She was appointed to the court by GovernorMartin O'Malley (D).

Before serving on the state supreme court, Barbera served as a judge on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. She served as a law clerk for Judge Robert Karwacki of theMaryland Court of Special Appeals in 1984, and in 1985 she became an assistant attorney general. From 1989 to 1998, Barbera worked for the Office of the Attorney General as the deputy chief of the Criminal Appeals Division. Barbera then served as legal counsel to the governor's office from 1998 until her appointment to the Court of Special Appeals.^[9]

Barbera earned an undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Towson University in 1975. She earned aJ.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1984.^[9]

Other state supreme court appointments in 2021

See also:State supreme court vacancies, 2021

The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2021. Click the link under theCourt column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.

Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.

See also

Maryland	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in MarylandMaryland Supreme CourtMaryland Court of Appeals	Elections:2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017Gubernatorial appointmentsJudicial selection in Maryland	Federal courtsState courtsLocal courts

External links

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• Maryland Court of Appeals

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