FEDERAL COURTS IN MARYLAND

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Bert M. Montague, Clerk

U.S. Courthouse Annex
1100 East Main St., 5th floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 771-2213

Diana Gribbon Motz, Maryland, Judge
Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr., Maryland, Judge
Paul V. Niemeyer, Maryland, Judge

Edward J. Garmatz Federal Courthouse
101 West Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201

The United States Courts of Appeals are intermediate appellate courts created in 1891 to relieve overcrowding of the U.S. Supreme Court docket. The appeals courts are empowered to review all decisions of federal district courts, certain special courts, and administrative bodies, except in those few instances where direct review by the U.S. Supreme Court is mandated. Judges of the United States Courts of Appeals are appointed for life terms by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

Under the United States Court of Appeals are thirteen judicial circuits. The fourth judicial circuit encompasses Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has thirteen active judges. Three judges are from Maryland, three from Virginia, two from West Virginia, one from North Carolina, and four from South Carolina.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

Catherine C. Blake, Judge
Andre M. Davis, Judge
Marvin J. Garbis, Judge
Benson E. Legg, Judge
William M. Nickerson, Judge
Frederic N. Smalkin, Judge

Senior Judges: Walter E. Black, Jr.; Alexander Harvey II; Frank A. Kaufman; Edward S. Northrop; Joseph H. Young.

Joseph A. Haas, Clerk

Edward J. Garmatz Federal Courthouse
101 West Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-2600

Deborah K. Chasanow, Judge
Peter J. Messitte, Judge
Alexander Williams, Jr., Judge

6500 Cherrywood Lane
Greenbelt, MD 20770
(301) 344-0660

The United States District Courts are trial courts with general federal jurisdiction. Each state has at least one federal district court. Under jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court are the U.S. Bankruptcy Judges, the U.S. Magistrate Judges, probation officers, court reporters, and their staffs.

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland was established in 1789 by the federal Judiciary Act of 1789. The Court convened for the first time in 1790 at Baltimore and alternated sessions between Baltimore and Easton until 1822, when the Court moved to the New Masonic Hall on St. Paul Street, Baltimore. The Court moved to its present site in 1976.

Judges of the U.S. District Court are appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. Presently, sixteen judges sit on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The Chief Judge and nine judges serve full-time. Six senior judges still hear cases but no longer assume full-time duties.

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT

U.S. Courthouse, Room 300
6500 Cherrywood Lane
Greenbelt, MD 20770
(301) 344-8047

E. Stephen Derby, Associate Judge
James F. Schneider, Associate Judge

Frank L. Monge, Clerk

Garmatz Federal Courthouse, Room 919
101 West Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-2688

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland is part of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. With separate clerks' offices and court dockets, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court administers debtors' estates and decides controversies between debtors and creditors.

Although Congress enacted emergency bankruptcy laws in 1800, 1841, and 1867, the National Bankruptcy Act of 1898 was the first comprehensive statute and governed bankruptcy cases for almost 80 years. Under the act, the U.S. District Court appointed "referees in bankruptcy" to handle these cases. The federal Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 established independent bankruptcy courts and judges, a move declared unconstitutional in 1982 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984 (P. L. 98-353) remedied the jurisdictional problems of the 1978 act by designating bankruptcy courts as units of the federal district courts.

For Maryland, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit appoints four bankruptcy judges to fourteen-year terms. The bankruptcy judges appoint the bankruptcy clerk.

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGES

Associate Magistrate Judges: Paul M. Rosenberg, 1997; Daniel E. Klein, Jr., 2002; Jillyn K. Schulze, 2002; William Conelly, 2003; Susan K. Gauvey, 2004; Charles B. Day, 2005; two vacancies.

Part-time Associate Magistrate Judges: Donald E. Beachley, 1998; Victor H. Laws, 2000.

Garmatz Federal Courthouse
101 West Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-4560

400 Presidential Building
6565 Bellcrest Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782
(301) 436-8175

United States Magistrate Judges for the District of Maryland may conduct initial proceedings in criminal cases, that is, issue search warrants, arrest warrants, and summonses; review bail; and set initial appearances. Upon written consent of the defendant, they may try and dispose of federal criminal misdemeanor cases, with or without a jury. With consent of the litigants, they also may try any civil case pending in their U.S. District Court. The U.S. Magistrate Judges oversee pretrial matters and procedures such as motions, pretrial conferences, prisoner cases, Social Security cases, and evidentiary hearings.

U.S. Magistrate Judges trace their origins to the federal Judiciary Act of 1789 which authorized magistrates to set bail in federal criminal cases. In 1812, federal circuit courts were authorized to appoint such persons to take affidavits, set bail, and receive fees for those services. As their duties expanded, these court officials became known as commissioners by 1817. Commissioners could try petty offenses committed in certain national parks in 1894, and, in 1896, a system of U.S. Commissioners was formally established. Appointed to four-year terms by the U.S. District Courts, commissioners exercised the same powers and duties of their predecessors but were compensated according to a uniform fee schedule. After 1940, commissioners could try all petty offenses committed on federal property if so designated by the appointing U.S. District Court and with written consent of the defendant.

The Federal Magistrates Act of 1968 replaced the commissioner system with federal magistrates overseen by the Judicial Conference of the United States. The act required magistrates to be attorneys. Magistrates retained all the powers and duties of commissioners, could try and dispose of minor criminal offenses, and could be assigned additional duties to expedite the work of U.S. District Court judges. Since 1968, the pretrial, civil and criminal jurisdiction of federal magistrates expanded. On December 1, 1990, magistrates were designated U.S. Magistrate Judges.

For Maryland, the U.S. Magistrate Judges are appointed to eight-year terms by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Six serve full-time and three serve part-time.

UNITED STATES MARSHAL

Donald Donovan, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal

Garmatz Federal Courthouse, Room 605
101 West Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-2220

Under the U.S. Department of Justice, the United States Marshals Service is the nation's oldest federal law enforcement agency. It is responsible for the custody, care, and transportation of federal offenders; apprehension of federal criminals who jump bail, violate parole, or escape from prison; and protection of federal courts, judges, attorneys, and witnesses. The Service enforces court orders and manages assets seized or forfeited as a result of their having been acquired from the profits of certain crimes.

The office of U.S. Marshal was established in each federal judicial district by the federal Judiciary Act of 1789. As Presidential appointees, Marshals functioned independently within their districts until 1969, when the U.S. Marshals Service was formed. By 1972, a headquarters in Washington, DC, supervised budgets and the hiring and training of deputies nationwide. The federal Marshals Service Act of 1988 further defined the role of U.S. Marshals.

The U.S. Marshal for each district still is appointed to a four-year term by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

Stephen M. Schenning, First Assistant U.S. Attorney

Assistant U.S. Attorneys: Larry D. Adams; Kaye A. Allison; James R. Alsup; Katherine J. Armentrout; Jane F. Barrett; Ethan L. Bauman; Jamie M. Bennett; Stuart A. Berman; Judith Bollinger; Raymond A. Bonner; Thomas M. DiBiagio; Harvey E. Eisenberg; Maury S. Epner; Juliet A. Eurich; Joseph L. Evans; Virginia B. Evans; Douglas B. Farquhar; Kathleen O. Gavin; John V. Geise; John P. Gephart; Beth P. Gesner; Jefferson M. Gray; Bonnie S. Greenberg; Lisa M. Griffin; Brent J. Gurney; William W. Hamel; Robert R. Harding; Carmina S. Hughes; Philip S. Jackson; Richard C. Kay; Dale P. Kelberman; Amy LeCocq; Christine Manuelian; Kathleen McDermott; Joyce K. McDonald; Christopher B. Mead; Jan P. Miller; Jane F. Nathan; Roann Nichols; Andrew G. W. Norman; Ira L. Oring; Jeanette F. Plante; John F. Purcell; Wayne Rich; Susan M. Ringler; E. Thomas Roberts; Barbara S. Sale; David Salem; Donna Sanger; Peter M. Semel; Robert E. Sims; Barbara S. Skalla; Andrea Smith; Robert Thomas, Jr.; James G. Warwick; Hollis R. Weisman; Gregory Welsh; Andrew White; Joseph H. Young; Stephen Zimmerman.

Garmatz Federal Courthouse, Room 820
101 West Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-2458

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland was established by the federal Judiciary Act of 1789. Under the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney and Assistant Attorneys are the federal government's principal trial lawyers. Duties of the U.S. Attorney's Office include prosecuting all federal criminal cases and representing the federal government in civil litigation.

The U.S. Attorney is appointed to a four-year term by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. Assistant U.S. Attorneys are appointed by the U.S. Attorney General for indefinite terms.

FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER

Larry A. Nathans, Chief Assistant Federal Public Defender

Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defenders: Joseph A. Balter; Shirley M. Watts.

Assistant Federal Public Defenders: Denise Barrett; Susan M. Bauer; Michael T. Citaramanis; Donna D'Alessio; Beth M. Farber; Mary French; Kathryn Frey; Carmen Hernandez; Tyler Johnston; Jeffrey Risberg; Mark Wagner; Ricardo Zwaig.

Equitable Bank Center Tower II, Suite 401
100 South Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-3962

Presidential Building
6525 Belcrest Road
Hyattsville, MD 20872
(301) 436-8289

The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland was created in 1974 according to the Criminal Justice Act of 1964 (18 U.S.C., sec. 3006A). That law allows a federal district court to establish a defender organization in a district in which at least two hundred persons annually require the appointment of counsel.

The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland provides representation to any person financially unable to obtain adequate representation in actions within the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Representation includes counsel and investigative, expert and other services necessary for an adequate defense.

The Office includes the Federal Public Defender, the Chief Assistant Federal Public Defender, two Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defenders, and twelve staff attorneys known as Assistant Federal Public Defenders. They handle caseloads composed of federal misdemeanors, felonies, parole and probation violations, habeas corpus, grand jury representation, direct appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and petitions for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland is appointed to a four-year term by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, after consideration of recommendations made by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The Federal Public Defender appoints as many attorneys as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit approves and other personnel as approved by the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.