Governor O'Malley Appoints The Honorable Mary Ellen Barbera to Court of Appeals of Maryland
ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 7, 2008) – Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment of the Honorable Mary Ellen Barbera to represent the Seventh Appellate Judicial Circuit (Montgomery County) on the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the State’s highest court. Judge Barbera will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Irma S. Raker. Since 2002, Judge Barbera has served as an Associate Judge on the Court of Special Appeals, the State’s intermediate appellate court.
“I am proud to appoint Judge Barbera to the Court of Appeals,” said Governor O’Malley. “Throughout her career – first as an attorney for the State, and later as an appellate judge – she has shown impeccable judgment, integrity, intelligence, and compassion. Her breadth of experience and strength of character will benefit the Court of Appeals and the citizens of Maryland.”
Judge Barbera has been a public servant and a leader throughout her career. In the early 1980s, she taught elementary school for the Baltimore City Public School System while attending the University of Maryland School of Law at night. From 1985 to 1989, she worked for the Criminal Appeals Division of the Office of the Attorney General, where she represented the State of Maryland in at least 250 criminal appeals. From 1998 to 2002, she served as legal counsel to Governor Parris N. Glendening.
During Judge Barbera’s tenure at the Court of Special Appeals, she authored dozens of published opinions for the Court. The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals selected Judge Barbera to serve on the Judicial Ethics Committee and to chair the Criminal Law and Procedure Committee of the Maryland Judicial Conference. Judge Barbera also has served on numerous committees of the Maryland State Bar Association, including the special committee on anti-discrimination matters and the standing committee to draft pattern jury instructions in criminal cases.
In addition to her work on the bench, Judge Barbera has taught courses at the American University Washington College of Law and the University of Baltimore School of Law. In 1998, the University of Baltimore School of Law gave her an award for Outstanding Teaching by an Adjunct Faculty Member.
Judge Barbera has been recognized for her consistent leadership and public service. The Daily Record gave her the Maryland Leadership in Law Award in 2007, and recognized her as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2008. In 1998, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association.
Judge Barbera received a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1984. She received a Bachelor of Arts in early childhood education from Towson University in 1975.
