--- title: "Diana Jane Gribbon Motz | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/diana-jane-gribbon-motz" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Diana Jane Gribbon Motz U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1994-present - Judge, Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1994-present - American federal judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1994 until she assumed senior status in 2022 and fully retired in 2024 - Associate judge, Maryland Court of Special Appeals, 1991-1994 - Assistant attorney general, State of Maryland, 1972-1986; chief of litigation, 1982-1986 - 1972–1986: Assistant Attorney General of Maryland, later Chief of Litigation (1982–1986) - 1968–1971: Private practice in Baltimore, MD, at Piper & Marbury (now DLA Piper) - Interviewed by Judge Motz's former law clerk Ralph S. Tyler ### Education - University of Virginia School of Law in, becoming one of only two women in her law school class — J.D. (1968) - B.A. in history from Vassar College in 1965 ### Additional information - Full retirement: 2024. - Senior status: September 30, 2022, upon confirmation of her successor, Nicole Berner. - Oral history interview of Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, July 29, 2019, in Baltimore. - Nomination: January 27, 1994, by President Bill Clinton to a new seat on the Fourth Circuit. - Commission: June 16, 1994. - Confirmation: June 15, 1994, by voice vote in the U.S. Senate. - Private practice, Baltimore, MD, 1986-1991 - 1986–1991: Private practice again. - Private practice, Baltimore, Maryland, 1968-1971, 1986-1991 - Motz married J. Frederick Motz in 1968; both subsequently served on the federal bench, making them the first married couple each sitting on the federal judiciary. - Born July 15, 1943, Washington, D.C.. - Date of birth: 1943-07-15 - Notably, she won a $268,482 judgment against former Vice President Spiro Agnew for bribes taken while Maryland governor. - The first woman from Maryland to serve on the Fourth Circuit. - Motz was raised in a legal family; her father, Daniel M. Gribbon, was a noted litigator who clerked for Judge Learned Hand. - They have two children, Catherine and Daniel. - Birth place: Washington, DC ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385441) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385441) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385441) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2336/diana-jane-gribbon-motz/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2336/diana-jane-gribbon-motz/) - [Judge Diana Jane Gribbon Motz](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385441) - [Wikidata: Diana Gribbon Motz](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5271175) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/diana-jane-gribbon-motz", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/diana-jane-gribbon-motz", "name": "Diana Jane Gribbon Motz | KnowJudges", "description": "Diana Jane Gribbon Motz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 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