FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 17, 2003
ANNAPOLIS – Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. today announced the appointment of Sylvester B. Cox and W. Michel Pierson to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. They succeed Judge William D. Quarles and Ellen M. Heller, respectively. Judge Quarles was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and Judge Heller retired causing the vacancies.
“Sylvester Cox and Michel Pierson have been determined by a panel of lawyers and laypeople to be highly qualified to serve,” said Governor Ehrlich. “I am confident they will further the best interests of the citizens of Baltimore City and the judicial system during their respective tenures.”
Sylvester B. Cox, 45, has served as Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City since 1988. Since 1997, he has served as Division Chief of the Firearms Investigation Violence Enforcement Unit (FIVE Unit), which prosecutes certain defendants who commit non-fatal shootings as well as recividist handgun offenders in Baltimore City. He was previously a Team Captain within the felony Narcotics Unit, where he prosecuted violations of narcotics laws and oversaw a staff of four Assistant State’s Attorneys. A Baltimore native, Mr. Cox earned his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1983.
W. Michel Pierson, 53, has been Partner in the law firm of Pierson & Pierson since 1978, where he specializes in civil and criminal litigation. His practice encompasses a wide variety of subject matters, including commercial, labor, property, constitutional, maritime, estate and personal injury cases. A Baltimore native, he earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1973. Mr. Pierson is former president of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and a member of the Blaustein Fund Committee of the Associated Jewish Charities.
Mr. Cox and Mr. Pierson were recommended to Governor Ehrlich by the Baltimore City Trial Court Judicial Nominating Committee, which was responsible for conducting interviews and reviewing all available information on judicial applicants before recommending to the Governor the most qualified candidates for filling the Circuit Court vacancies.
Statewide judicial nominating commissions were established by Executive Order in 1970 to propose nominees to the Governor for appointment to the Judiciary. Governor Ehrlich continued the judicial nominating commission process through Executive Order 01.01.2003.12.