Maryland judicial elections, 2016

Five seats on Maryland's state-level courts were up for retention elections on November 8, 2016. Two judges on the Maryland Court of Appeals joined three judges on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals on the general election ballot.

The supreme court judges up for retention were Judge Clayton Greene and Judge Michele Hotten. If retained, a supreme court judge serves for 10 years prior to the next retention election.

Judges Timothy Meredith, Patrick Woodward, and Dan Friedman were the appeals court judges up for retention in 2016. If retained, an appeals court judge serves for 10 years prior to the next retention election.

HIGHLIGHTS

All five judges were retained.

The Maryland Court of Appeals is Maryland's highest court; the Maryland Court of Special Appeals is the state's intermediate appellate court.

Judge Michele D. Hotten was a recent appointee who stood for a full 10-year term on the high court.

Judges who faced retention

Court of Appeals

■ Clayton Greene
■ Michele D. Hotten

Court of Special Appeals

■ Timothy Meredith
■ Patrick Woodward
■ Dan Friedman

Election results

November 8 general election

Clayton Greene was retained in the Maryland Court of Appeals, Greene's Seat election with 80.71% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Appeals, Greene's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Clayton Greene	80.71%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Michele D. Hotten was retained in the Maryland Court of Appeals, Hotten's Seat election with 87.18% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Appeals, Hotten's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Michele D. Hotten	87.18%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Timothy Meredith was retained in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Meredith's Seat election with 80.15% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Meredith's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Timothy Meredith	80.15%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Patrick Woodward was retained in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Woodward's Seat election with 87.69% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Woodward's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Patrick Woodward	87.69%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Dan Friedman was retained in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Friedman's Seat election with 82.85% of the vote.

Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Friedman's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Dan Friedman	82.85%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

Selection

See also: Judicial selection in Maryland

Judges are appointed to serve 10-year terms by the governor of the state and must be confirmed by the Maryland Senate before taking office. At least one year after the appointment, the judge must stand for retention by voters. In a retention election, voters are asked if a judge should be kept in office for another term; if a majority of the vote is "yes," the judge is retained. If the judge is retained, he or she will serve another 10-year term. Maryland judges must retire upon reaching age 70.

Qualifications

Court of appeals judges must be:

• citizens and qualified voters of Maryland;
• residents of the state for at least five years
• residents of the appellate judicial circuit to which they are appointed for at least the prior six months;
• 30 years of age at the time of appointment;
• admitted to practice law in Maryland; and
• "most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound legal knowledge."

State profile

Demographic data for Maryland
	Maryland	U.S.
Total population:	5,994,983	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	9,707	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	57.6%	73.6%
Black/African American:	29.5%	12.6%
Asian:	6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	3%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	9%	17.1%
Bildung
High school graduation rate:	89.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	37.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$74,551	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	10.7%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Maryland. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Maryland

Maryland voted for the Democratic candidate in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

More Maryland coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Maryland
• United States congressional delegations from Maryland
• Public policy in Maryland
• Endorsers in Maryland
• Maryland fact checks
• More...

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Maryland judicial election' OR 'Maryland court election'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Maryland judicial elections, 2016 - Google News

See also

Maryland	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Maryland Maryland Supreme Court Maryland Court of Appeals	Elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Maryland	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

Suggest a link

• Maryland Courts

Footnotes

Maryland courts

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Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Maryland • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Maryland

State courts:

Maryland Supreme Court • Appellate Court of Maryland • Maryland District Courts • Maryland Circuit Courts • Maryland Orphans' Court

State resources:

Courts in Maryland • Maryland judicial elections • Judicial selection in Maryland