Mabel H. Hubbard (1936-2006)
MSA SC 3520-11775
Extended Biography:
Judge Mabel E. Houze Hubbard retired in 1999 after a successful career that included a number of "firsts" for African-American women in Maryland. In 1978, Hubbard was appointed as the first black woman to serve as Baltimore's master-in-chancery for juvenile cases. She became the first African-American woman to serve on the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore in 1981, and, four years later, she was appointed as the first African-American woman associate judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore.1
Judge Hubbard was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 22, 1936. She spent most of her youth in Michigan, attending Mt. Clemons High School and then earned her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan in 1958. Continuing her education, Hubbard studied at the University of Pittsburgh (1962) and the University of Pennsylvania (1969) before earning her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1975. She was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1977 and was hired as assistant city solicitor. The following year she became master in chancery for Baltimore City.
Hubbard had been an English teacher and vice-principal before turning to the law, but she advanced quickly in the judicial field. To prepare for a career as a judge, she attended the National College of Juvenile Justice and the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada. In 1981 she became the first African-American woman appointed to a trial court by her appointment as associate judge for the Baltimore City District Court, District 1. She remained on the District Court until 1985 when she became the first African-American woman to be appointed associate judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore.
Judge Hubbard has presided over a number of headline court cases. In one such case she sentenced a former state delegate and a one-time chief city liquor inspector to probation and community work for their roles in conspiring to thwart the enforcement of liquor laws in Baltimore. William J. Madonna Jr. and Anthony J. Cianferano pled guilty to charges that they engaged in a 10-year conspiracy to thwart state liquor laws and were sentenced to two years probation and 300 hours of community service, along with a fine of $1000. Judge Hubbard had earlier thrown out more serious charges of bribery, which could have led to 14 years of jail time, ruling that the state prosecutor had failed to provide independent corroboration needed to make the bribery charges stick.2
Hubbard has been involved in several cases in which the police or prosecutors have erred, causing her to dismiss charges. In one case of ineptitude, Judge Hubbard threw out charges against Eric Funderburk, who was accused of shooting two people, because the prosecutor failed to hand state evidence to the defense lawyer. Assistant state's attorney Sharon Ruth Holback blamed the police for not turning over relevant notes. Hubbard also criticized the police, telling Holback, "You cannot prosecute a case properly unless you get the proper information from your so-called investigators, namely, the police."3
Judge Hubbard retired in 1999 after a 22-year law career, 18 of those years having been spent on the bench. The first African-American woman to serve on the District Court of Maryland, she helped advance the role of African-American women in the Maryland judiciary. In 2002 Hubbard was one of four honored with induction into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. The Maryland Women's Hall of Fame "seeks to honor Maryland women who have made unique and lasting contributions to the economic, political, cultural, and social life of the state and to provide visible models of achievement for tomorrow's female leaders."4 The Women's Bar Association of Maryland has also honored Judge Hubbard for her contributions to the judiciary and the advancement of women's interests in the legal profession.5
Judge Hubbard passed away on December
9, 2006, at the age of 69.
Notes:
1. Maryland Public Television. "Color at the Bar: The Rise of African-Americans in the Maryland Legal System." (www.mpt.org/prgramsinterests/mpt/colorathebar/timeline.shtml#here).
3. "Foul-ups lead to dismissal of
bribe case; City police officer won't face charges again, prosecutors say;
'A mistake was made'; Felony
indictment misworded, statute
of limitations ran out," The Baltimore Sun, 14 May 1998.
4. The Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, on-line (http://www.dhr.sailorsite.net/mcw/programs.htm)
5. November 1999 Barrister, on-line (http://www.aabar.org/barrister_newsletter/1999%20Newsletters/november%201999.htm#Women’s Bar Mid-Year Meeting)
Biography written by Jennifer Copeland, 2002 summer intern, Maryland
State Archives
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