Circuit Court Biographies

Maryland State and St. Mary's County Bar Associa-
tions. Maryland House of Delegates, 1946-1950; Mary-
land State Senate, 1955-1958. State's Attorney, St.
Mary's County, 1951-1954, 1958-1961; member,
Board of Parole and Probation Association, 1961-1967;
Assistant Attorney General, 1967-1972. Member,
American Legion, Veteran of Foreign Wars, Knights of
Columbus, St. Mary's Historical Society, Navy League
of the United States. U.S. Treasury Savings Bond Chair-
man, 1950-1978; citation from the St. Mary's Fraternal
Order of Policemen, 1975. Married; 12 children.

AUDREY EARNSHAW MELBOURNE. Seventh Ju-
dicial Circuit, 1978—. Born in Chicago, Illinois, De-
cember 20, 1930. Attended Drake Academy, New
York, New York; Roanoke College; George Washing-
ton University, B.A., 1955; University of Maryland
School of Law, LL.B., 1962. Admitted to the Maryland
Bar, 1962. Member, American, Maryland State, and
Prince George's County Bar Associations; American Ju-
dicature Society; Womens Bar Association; Prince
George's County Women Lawyers Caucus. Woman of
the Year (BPW), 1969; Ten Most Outstanding Women
of Laurel, 1971; Outstanding Citizen, Soroptimist Inter-
national, Laurel, 1976. Divorced; 4 children.

SAMUEL W. H. MELOY. Seventh Judicial Circuit,
1965—. Born in Washington, D.C., March 4, 1915.
Attended Eastern High School, Washington, D.C.; Uni-
versity of Maryland, A.B., 1936; George Washington
University, M.P.L., J.D., 1939. Admitted to the Mary-
land Bar, 1939. Served in the U.S. Navy. Member,
American, Maryland State, and Prince George's County
Bar Associations; American Judicature Society. Mem-
ber, M Club, University of Maryland; former president,
Terrapin Club, University of Maryland; member, Vans-
ville Farmers Club. Married; 3 children.

H. RALPH MILLER. Sixth Judicial Circuit, 1970—.
Born in Kokomo, Indiana, October 23, 1925. Attended
Calvin Coolidge High School; George Washington Uni-
versity; George Washington University Law School,
LL.B., 1949. Admitted to the Maryland Bar, 1949.
Member, Maryland State and Montgomery County Bar
Associations. Standing Examiner in Equity and Court
Auditor, Circuit Court for Montgomery County; judge,
Peoples Court of Montgomery County. Married; 2 chil-
dren. Deceased.

JOHN J. MITCHELL. Sixth Judicial Circuit, 1974—.
Born in Maiden, Massachusetts, December 26, 1926.
Attended Gonzaga College High School, Washington,
D.C.; Georgetown University; American University
Law School, LL.B., 1956. Admitted to the Maryland
Bar, 1957. Served in the U.S. Navy. Member, Maryland
State Bar Association; Maryland Judicial Conference;
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers;
Maryland State's Attorneys Association; American Ju-
dicature Society. Public defender, Montgomery County,
1968-1972; public defender, Sixth District, 1972-1973;
judge, District Court of Maryland, 1973; chairman,
District Advisory Board, Public Defender, Sixth Dis-
trict, 1975—. Member, Bulldog Club; Garrett Park
Players; Smithsonian Associates; National Historical
Society. Married; 5 children.

Judiciary/407

JAMES WILLIAM MURPHY. Eighth Judicial Cir-
cuit, 1970—. Born in Baltimore, February 21, 1926.
Attended Mt. St. Joseph's High School; Loyola College;
University of Maryland, J.D., 1950. Admitted to the
Maryland Bar, 1950. Served in the U.S. Army in
WWII. Assistant state's attorney for Baltimore City,
1953-1962. Married; 3 children.

WILLIAM H. MURPHY, JR. Eighth Judicial Circuit,
1980—. Born April 22, 1943, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Attended MIT, Boston, degree in electrical engineering,
1965; University of Maryland School of Law, J.D.,
1969. Admitted to the Maryland bar, 1969. Law clerk
to the Honorable Robert C. Murphy, Chief Judge,
Maryland Court of Special Appeals, 1969-1970; on
staff of Sen. Joseph D. Tydings, 1968; partner in private
law practice, 1970-1973, sole practitioner, 1973-1980.
Founder and past president, Black American Law Stu-
dents Association, University of Maryland; member,
Law Review, University of Maryland; secretary/treasur-
er, Young Democrats, University of Maryland School
of Law. Member, American Bar Association; Monu-
mental City Bar Association. Director, Baltimore Afro-
American newspaper, 1971-1973; president- College of
Criminal Trial Lawyers, 1975; former host, WJZ-TV
Sunday Live, 1979; panelist, WJZ-TV Square Off pro-
gram, 1979. Married; 4 children.

J. THOMAS NISSEL. Fifth Judicial Circuit, 1980—.
Born in Baltimore, December 29, 1930. Attended paro-
chial schools in Baltimore County; Loyola College,
B.A., 1952; University of Maryland School of Law,
LL.B., 1955; J.D., 1969. Admitted to the Maryland
Bar, 1955. Member, Maryland State Bar Association;
Trial Lawyers Law Club. Director, Howard County Bar
Association, 1975-1976. Office of the Attorney Gener-
al, 1957-1964; state's attorney for Howard County,
1966; county attorney for Howard County, 1967; asso-
ciate judge, Howard County Peoples Court, 1970; chief
judge, Howard County Peoples Court, 1971. Chairman,
Howard County Lawyer Referral, 1968-1969. President
and counsel member, Resurrection Church, Ellicott
City, 1974-1975. Administrative Judge, District Court,
District 10, 1971-1980. Married; 6 children.

JAMES A. PERROTT. Eighth Judicial Circuit,
1965—. Born in Camden, New Jersey, June 29, 1922.
Attended Forest Park High School; Gettysburg College,
A.B., 1944; Yale University, J.D., 1946. Served in the
U.S. Army. Member, various bar associations. Judge,
Orphans' Court, Baltimore City, 1962-1965. Former
member. National Labor Panel of the American Arbi-
tration Association. Married; 2 children.

JOSEPH I. PINES. Eighth Judicial Circuit, 1980—.
Bom in New York City, February 16, 1922. Attended
the University of Baltimore, LL.B., 1942; LL.M., 1948;
Johns Hopkins University, M.L.A., 1975. Admitted to
the Maryland Bar, 1943. Member, American, Maryland
State, and Baltimore City Bar Associations; American
Trial Lawyers Association; Maryland Trial Lawyers As-
sociation. Married; 2 children.

RICHARD M. POLLITT. First Judicial Circuit,
1972—, Administrative Judge, 1974—. Born in Allen,