1931 Francis A. Michel ....... Baltimore City
1933 T. Barton Harrington .... Baltimore City
1935 Emanuel Gorfine ........ Baltimore City
1939 Thomas E. Conlon....... Baltimore City
1944 John S. White .......... Prince George's
1947 C. Ferdinand Sybert ........... Howard
1951 John C. Luber .......... Baltimore City
1959 Perry 0. Wilkinson Prince George's
1963 A. Gordon Boone ........... Baltimore
1964 Marvin Mandel ......... Baltimore City
1969 Thomas Hunter Lowe........... Talbot
1973 John Hanson Briscoe ........ St. Mary's
1979 Benjamin L. Cardin...... Baltimore City
1987- R. Clayton Mitchell, Jr. ........... Kent

JUDICIAL OFFICERS

JUDGES OF THE COURT OF
APPEALS²⁷

The Court of Appeals originated in the seven-
teenth century. From the early settlement of
Maryland, the General Assembly had sat as a
court of law as well as a legislature. When the As-
sembly divided into two houses in 1650, the Up-
per House, or Governor and Council, became the
Court of Appeals.

During the Revolution, the Court of Appeals
was reformed by the Constitution of 1776 (sec.
56). Judges were appointed by the Governor with
the advice and consent of the Council (sec. 48).
The Court sat in Annapolis on the Western Shore.
By 1805 chief justices of the six judicial districts
of the State constituted the Court of Appeals
(Chapter 55, Acts of 1804). From 1805 to 1851,
the Court sat at Easton on the Eastern Shore as
well as at Annapolis. Judges held their commis-
sions upon good behavior, but could be removed
by the Governor with the concurrence of two-
thirds of the members of each house.

The Constitution of 1851 provided for a single
Court of Appeals, which sat at Annapolis. Judges
were to be chosen by the electorate. The Court
consisted of four justices, each of whom was elect-
ed from one of four judicial districts. From the
elected justices, the Chief Justice was designated
by the Governor with the advice and consent of
the Senate. Justices served a ten-year term, which
was renewable, and were eligible to serve until age
seventy (Const. 1851, Art. 4, sec. 4).

The 1864 Constitution increased both the num-
ber of judicial districts and the number of justices

from four to five (Const. 1864, Art. 4, sec. 17).
Justices served fifteen-year terms. By the Consti-
tution of 1867 the number of judicial districts and
justices each were increased from five to eight
(Const. 1867, Art. 4, sec. 14).

In 1944 a reorganization of the Court reduced
the number of justices to five (Chapter 772, Acts
of 1943). One judge was elected from each of
three appellate circuits, and two were elected from
the fourth appellate circuit (Baltimore City).

Chapter 11, Acts of 1960, increased Court
membership to seven justices.

1778-1806 Benjamin Rumsey ....... Baltimore
1778-1806 Benjamin Mackall IV ....... Calvert
1778-1806 Thomas Jones ........... Baltimore
1778-1792 Solomon Wright...... Queen Anne's
1778-1784 James Murray.......... Dorchester
1801-1806 Richard Potts ............ Frederick
1801-1806 Littleton Dennis .......... Somerset
1806-1824 Jeremiah Townley
Chase .............. Anne Arundel
1806-1809 James Tilghman ...... Queen Anne's
1806-1812 William Polk............. Somerset
1806 Richard Sprigg ..... Prince George's
1806-1817 Joseph Hopper
Nicholson............... Baltimore
1806-1811 John Mackall
Gantt ............. Prince George's
1806-1844 John Buchanan ......... Washington
1809-1834 Richard Tilghman
Earle ................ Queen Anne's
1811-1821 John Johnson ...... Prince George's
1812-1814 John Done .............. Worcester
1814-1835 William Bond Martin ... Dorchester
1817-1823 Walter Dorsey .......... Baltimore
1822-1844 John Stephen....... Prince George's
1823-1848 Stevenson Archer .......... Harford
1824-1851 Thomas Beale
Dorsey ............. Anne Arundel
1834-1851 Ezekial Forman Chambers ..... Kent
1835-1851 Ara Spence ............. Worcester
1844-1845 William B. Stone .......... Charles
1844-1845 Samuel M. Semmes ....... Allegany
1844-1851 Alexander Contee
Magruder.......... Prince George's
1845-1851 Robert N. Martin......... Frederick
1848-1851 William Frick ........... Baltimore
1851-1861 John Carroll
LeGrand ........... Baltimore City
1851 1860 John Bowers Eccleston ........ Kent
1851-1861 William Hallam
Tuck ............... Anne Arundel
1851-1857 John Thomson Mason... Washington