Lynne A. Battaglia
MSA SC 3520-13543
Biography submitted by the office of Lynne A. Battaglia and dated November 30, 2001:
Lynne A. Battaglia was born on April 14, 1946, in Buffalo, New York, and raised in Silver Creek, New York, a village in the western part of the state where her father was one of the town’s pharmacists.
After graduating from high school in 1963, Ms. Battaglia entered American University in Washington, D.C., where she majored in International Relations. She was Secretary of the Student Association, active in campus politics and a member of the Mortar Board (an honorary association). She received her B.A. degree in 1967 and her M.A. degree in 1968 from the same institution. She entered Georgetown University in 1968 to embark on her doctoral studies in American Government after having been awarded an NDEA Title IV Fellowship.
Before receiving her doctorate Ms. Battaglia entered law school at the University of Maryland Law School where she received her Juris Doctor degree in 1974. She was Articles Editor of the Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. She was admitted to the Maryland Bar on December 17, 1974 and to the Federal District Court on January 3, 1975.
She began her legal career in 1974 at the Baltimore law firm of Semmes, Bowen & Semmes. She was an associate attorney at the firm until 1978. In 1978, she was recruited to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland where she spent mt the next four years. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Ms. Battaglia prosecuted numerous cases involving bank robbery, mail fraud, drug violations and tax evasion and served as the civil case liaison for the United States Attorney.
In 1983, she assumed the position of Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Law School, teaching courses in the Clinical Law Program and Women and the Law. She continues to teach on a part-time basis at the Law School.
In 1984, Ms. Battaglia became Senior Trial Attorney within the Office of Special Litigation in the Department of Justice, where she tried complex tax shelter cases throughout the United States. She twice received awards for Outstanding Attorney during her tenure.
In 1988, she was chosen by Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran to become the Chief of the Criminal Investigations Division where she supervised attorneys, accountants and investigators involved in the prosecution of white collar and environmental crimes. Within three years she was recruited to become the Chief of Staff to United States Senator Barbara A. Mikulski where she supervised the work of the Washington office, two subcommittees, and six state offices in addition to acting as Legal Advisor to the office.
She served as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
from August, 20, 1993 to January 26, 2001. She was appointed to that
position by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate.
Ms. Battaglia is currently Maryland Court of Appeals Judge from the
Third Appellate Circuit. She was nominated by Governor Parris Glendening,
confirmed by the Maryland Senate, and was sworn-in on January 26, 2001.
In 1994 Ms. Battaglia was presented with The Dorothy Beatty Memorial Award by the Women’s Law Center in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the advancement of women’s rights in Maryland. On March 20, 2001, Ms. Battaglia was inducted into the “Circle of Excellence” having been selected three times, as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by Warfield’s Business Record. In 1997 she received the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland “1997 Distinguished Women Award.” She was also presented with the University of Maryland School of Law 1998 Distinguished Graduate Award. In 2001 Ms. Battaglia was awarded an Honorary Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
While U.S. Attorney for Maryland, Ms. Battaglia was Vice-Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and chaired the Health Care Fraud Subcommittee as well as being co-chair of the Child Exploitation Working Group. She was also active in other Attorney General Advisory Committee subcommittees including Environmental and Civil Rights.
Ms. Battaglia is a member of the Gender Equality Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association and is a member of numerous other Bar Associations. She is a member of the Maryland Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission. She also is a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland Law School. She serves on the Board of Directors, Traditional Acupuncture Institute, Columbia, Maryland. She is a member of Network 2000.
Formerly, Ms. Battaglia was Chair of the Gender Equality Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association; Chairperson of the Judicial Administration Committee of the Baltimore City Bar Association; Past President of the Board of Directors, Law Alumni Association, University of Maryland Law School; facilitator of groups at Citizens Against Spousal Assault; Chairperson of inquiry panels of the Attorney Grievance Commission, State of Maryland; on the Board of Directors, Women’s Law Center, Baltimore, Maryland; and on the Board of Directors of the Howard County Sexual Assault Center. She also served on the Howard County Women’s Commission and was co-chair of the Women’s Health Promotion Council and the Maryland Commission for Women as well as serving on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Maryland. She also participated in the Columbia Volunteer Corps and Howard County: A United Vision.
She presently lives in Columbia, Maryland. She has a son, Scott, who is a 1998 graduate of LaSalle University.
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