PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING THE PLANNED APPOINTMENT OF
A U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland is now accepting applications to fill a full-time United States Magistrate Judge position. This vacancy is due to the impending retirement of Chief Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan on May 21, 2027.
The Magistrate Judge’s initial duty station will be in the Northern Division, with travel to the Southern Division as case assignments require. The duty station for this position is subject to future relocation to the Southern Division depending upon the needs of the Court.

The duties of the position are:

1. Conducting most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases;

2. Trying and disposing of misdemeanor cases;

3.  Conducting various pretrial matters (including ADR) and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from the judges of the district; and

4. Trying and disposing of civil cases upon consent of the litigants.

The basic jurisdiction of United States Magistrate Judges is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636 et seq.

To be qualified for appointment an applicant must:

1. Be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar at the highest court of astate, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the UnitedStates, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least 5 years (with some substitutes authorized);

2.  Be competent to perform all the duties of the office, be of good moral character, be emotionally stable and mature, be committed to equal justice under the law, be in good health, be patient and courteous, and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;

3.  Be less than seventy years old; and

4. Not be related to a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

A Merit Selection Panel composed of attorneys and other members of the community will review all qualified applications and recommend in confidence to the District Judges at least six persons it considers best qualified. The Court will make the appointments following FBI full-field investigations and IRS tax compliance reviews for each prospective appointee. An affirmative effort will be made to ensure due consideration of all qualified candidates, including women and members of minority groups. The current salary for a U.S. Magistrate Judge is $229,908. The term of office is eight (8) years and incumbents may be reappointed.

Application forms may be obtained from the Clerk of the District Court or on-line by accessing the “Magistrate Judge Announcement” icon on the Court’s home page at www.mdd.uscourts.gov. Please note that applicants must apply personally; no nominations will be accepted.

On or before October 16, 2026, please submit your application, attachments and three writing samples in PDF format to: Magis_Judge_vacancy@mdd.uscourts.gov. Even though we are requiring that applications be submitted via email, applicants should also provide an original and nine (9) copies of the completed application, attachments, and the three writing samples in a package marked MERIT SELECTION PANEL-CONFIDENTIAL, which should be sent to:

Chair, Magistrate Judge Selection Panel
c/o Tina Stavrou, Human Resources Manager
United States District Court for the District of Maryland
4415 U.S. Courthouse
101 West Lombard Street, Fourth Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201

All applications will be kept confidential unless the applicant consents to disclosure, and all applications will be examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel, the Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and essential staff members. The deliberations of the Merit Selection Panel and the Judges will remain confidential.

Note: To access the application you will need to download the document to your local device.