MARYLAND JUDICIARY | SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON JUDICIAL COMPENSATION
Appendix 2
Structure of the Maryland Judiciary
The District Court of Maryland
Most Maryland residents who come into contact with the legal system do so through the District Court. The District Court is a statewide court headquartered in Annapolis, with 33 locations in 12 districts throughout the state. It has a staff of over 1,700 individuals, including 124 judges. As one of the two trial courts in Maryland, more than 1.7 million cases are filed in the District Court each year. These cases include domestic violence and peace orders; landlord-tenant disputes; motor vehicle violations ranging from parking tickets to driving under the influence; civil lawsuits for up to $30,000; criminal misdemeanors and certain felonies; and pretrial release and preliminary hearings for all defendants charged in Maryland. The mission of the District Court is “to provide equal and exact justice for all who are involved in litigation before the Court.” As most individuals appearing before the District Court represent themselves, the District Court judges are presented with a unique challenge in an adversarial system. Administrative Judges of the District Court have significant responsibilities for which they are not compensated. These duties include providing supervision over the associate judges on their courts, management of the bailiffs and other courthouse safety concerns, docket management, and facilities oversight. They regularly meet with justice partners on issues and programs vital to court operations and case adjudication. Some Administrative Judges supervise multiple courthouse locations and multiple counties. Essentially, the Administrative Judges are on-call 24/7.
The Circuit Courts
The Circuit Courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in Maryland. They have exclusive jurisdiction over most matters of equity, civil cases exceeding $30,000, and most felony criminal cases. The Circuit Courts also preside over divorce and other family law matters. They are the only state courts in Maryland empowered to conduct jury trials (in both civil and criminal cases). In addition to their role as trial courts, the Circuit Courts also hear appeals from the District Court and administrative agencies. There are 24 Circuit Courts in Maryland: one in each of the 23 counties plus Baltimore City. The number of judges on each Circuit Court is set by statute and varies by county: Baltimore City has the most Circuit Court judges with 35, while Caroline, Dorchester, Garrett, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, and Talbot Counties have only one Circuit Court judge each. These judges are tasked with resolving the more serious and more complicated criminal and civil cases in the Maryland trial courts. Like the District Court Administrative Judges, the Administrative Judges of the circuit courts not only hear cases, but they also have significant responsibilities for which they are not compensated. Although not exhaustive, these duties include providing supervision over the associate judges on their courts, management of sheriff and bailiff concerns, human resources issue resolution, docket management, facilities oversight and security issues, and working with local executive and legislative officials on budgets for maintaining and improving the physical structure of the local courthouses, and regularly meeting with many justice partners on issues and programs vital to court operations and case adjudication. Some Administrative Judges are not only charged with the day to day operations of their respective courts, but also have limited
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