--- title: "Mary Ellen Barbera | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-ellen-barbera-4661" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-22" --- # Mary Ellen Barbera Supreme Court of Maryland · Judge ## Profile - Court: Supreme Court of Maryland - State: Maryland - Role: Judge - Service status: former - Last verified: 2026-08-22 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, Court of Appeals of Maryland, 2008-present - representing the 7th Appellate Judicial Circuit (Montgomery County), and held the role of a judge from September 2008 until July 2013 On July 8, 2013, Governor Martin O’Malley appointed her as Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, making her the first woman to hold this position - In January 2002, Barbera was appointed as an at-large judge on Maryland’s intermediate appellate court, the Court of Special Appeals, where she served until September 2008. - She also held the role of deputy legal counsel and chief legal counsel in the Governor’s Office from 1998 to 2002 - She then joined the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, serving as an assistant attorney general in the Criminal Appeals Division and later as deputy chief from 1989 to 1998 - Began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge Robert L. Karwacki of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland from 1984 to 1985 ### Education - Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Towson State College in 1975 and later obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1984. - University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law ### Additional information - Served in this role until her retirement on September 10, 2021, reaching the mandatory retirement age. - Barbera received several awards recognizing her contributions to the judiciary, including the Maryland Senate’s First Citizen Award (2018), the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Annual Jurist Award (2019), and the Maryland State Bar Association’s Judicial Civility Award (2021). - Judge, 2009-2009 - prof, 2007-2007 - prof, 2001-2001 - Date of birth: 1951-09-10 - During her tenure, she chaired numerous committees, including the Maryland Judicial Conference, the Library Committee, and the Judicial Cabinet, and contributed to initiatives such as the Maryland Access to Justice Commission and the Governor’s Commission to Reform Maryland’s Pretrial System - Birth place: Baltimore ## 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 ### remote proceedings Scope: statewide Maryland trial courts may conduct remote electronic proceedings when authorized by rule, and the court may permit or require participants to appear by remote electronic communications. Evidence excerpt: the court may permit or require one or more participants, or all participants, to join the proceeding by means of remote electronic communications. [Remote Hearings and Proceedings](https://www.mdcourts.gov/remotehearings) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### remote recording Scope: statewide For Maryland remote proceedings, the required recording is made by the court, and participants should not make their own audio or video recording unless the court permits it. Evidence excerpt: Proceedings conducted via videoconferencing technology must be recorded by the court [Remote Hearings and Proceedings](https://www.mdcourts.gov/remotehearings) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### electronic devices Scope: statewide Maryland permits electronic devices in court facilities only in accordance with court rules and orders; attorneys may use devices reasonably for a proceeding if silent, positioned away from the trier of fact or witnesses, not used for recording, and not used for unauthorized communication. Evidence excerpt: attorneys are permitted the reasonable and lawful use of an electronic device in connection with the proceeding provided that [NOTICE Cell Phones, Other Electronic Devices, and Cameras in Court Facilities](https://www.mdcourts.gov/reference/cellphonenotice) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### photography video recording Scope: statewide Maryland prohibits taking, recording, or transmitting photographs, videos, or other visual images in court facilities unless the court expressly grants permission in a specific instance. Evidence excerpt: The taking, recording, or transmitting of photographs, videos, or other visual images by cell phone or any other device is prohibited in the court facility at all times [NOTICE Cell Phones, Other Electronic Devices, and Cameras in Court Facilities](https://www.mdcourts.gov/reference/cellphonenotice) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/4661/mary-ellen-barbera/) - [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/4661/mary-ellen-barbera/) - [Supreme Court of Maryland current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/4661/mary-ellen-barbera/) - [Remote Hearings and Proceedings](https://www.mdcourts.gov/remotehearings) - [NOTICE Cell Phones, Other Electronic Devices, and Cameras in Court Facilities](https://www.mdcourts.gov/reference/cellphonenotice) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/4661/mary-ellen-barbera/) - [Mary Ellen Barbera, Chief Judge, Maryland Court of Appeals](https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/29ap/former/html/msa13717.html) - [Mary Ellen Barbera - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mary_Ellen_Barbera) - [Wikidata: Mary Ellen Barbera](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16147928) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-ellen-barbera-4661", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-ellen-barbera-4661", "name": "Mary Ellen Barbera | KnowJudges", "description": "Mary Ellen Barbera, Supreme Court of Maryland. 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