Brendan Hurson

District of Maryland
	Fourth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 10
	Judges: 9
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: George L. Russell, III
	Active judges: Deborah Boardman, Theodore Chuang, Stephanie A. Gallagher, Lydia Kay Griggsby, Brendan Hurson, Matthew Maddox, Julie Rubin, George L. Russell III, Paula Xinis; Senior judges:; Richard Bennett, Catherine Blake, James Bredar, Deborah Chasanow, Ellen Hollander, Peter Messitte, William Nickerson

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Brendan Hurson
	Court: United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Progress
	Confirmed 197 days after nomination.
	Nominated: March 21, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: April 18, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: May 11, 2023
	Confirmed: October 4, 2023
	Vote: 53-44

Brendan Hurson is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on March 21, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 6, 2023, by a vote of 53-44.^[1]^[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Hurson was a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Maryland (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On March 21, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Hurson to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Hurson received commission on October 6, 2023.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Hurson by a vote of 53-44 on October 4, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Hurson confirmation vote (October 4, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	0
Republican	3	44	2
Independent	2	0	1
Total	53^[4]	44	3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Hurson's nomination on April 18, 2023. He was reported to the full Senate on May 11, 2023, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[1]

Nomination

On March 20, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Hurson to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.^[3] The president officially nominated Hurson on March 21, 2023.^[1] Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

Hurson was nominated to replace Judge George Jarrod Hazel, who retired on February 24, 2023.^[1]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Hurson well qualified.^[5] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Bildung

Hurson earned a bachelor's degree from Providence College in 2000, and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2005.^[2]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States District Court for the District of Maryland
2017-2018: Assistant federal public defender
2011-2016: Adjunct professor, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
2007-2017, 2018-2022: Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland
- 2007-2014, 2018: assistant federal public defender
- 2015-2017, 2019-2022: senior litigation counsel
2006-2007: Private practice, Baltimore, Maryland
2005-2006: Law clerk, Hon. Margaret Seymour, United States District Court for the District of South Carolina^[2]

About the court

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit based in downtown Richmond, Virginia, at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

The Counties of Maryland (click for larger map)

The District of Maryland has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are two court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Baltimore (Northern) Division, covering Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester counties

The Greenbelt (Southern) Division, covering Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's, and St. Mary's counties

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.