Baltimore County Sitting Judges

The Maryland Judicial Appointment Process:

Why Are These Judges Running?

People often wonder why these judges are running for an election. The Maryland Constitution requires Circuit Court Judges to stand for election after being appointed. The Governor of Maryland undertakes a comprehensive vetting process to appoint a judge when a vacancy occurs on the Circuit Court. Pursuant to a Gubernatorial Executive Order, the Baltimore County Judicial Nominating Commission vets and nominates lawyers to fill vacancies on the Circuit Court. Lawyers who are nominated by the commission meet exceptional standards of legal aptitude and must be the “most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound legal knowledge” as dictated by the Maryland Constitution.

The Maryland Constitution requires that Circuit Court Judges, once appointed or reappointed, must run in the next election to be retained.

Judges are Prohibited under the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct from taking a position on matters that are likely to come before them as a judge (MD Rule 18-102.10). Click here for the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct, found in the Maryland Rules.

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Judges

Michael Barranco

Judge Barranco has a proven track record on the bench. Since his appointment in 2022, Judge Barranco has presided over countless jury and judge trials as well handles all of the types of matters which come before the Court. He regularly handles criminal and civil dockets, decides motions of all types, as well as presides over family law and domestic violence protective order cases, appeals from the District Court and administrative agencies and a large variety of other kinds of matters.

Please click here to read the judge’s full biography

Judge Michael Barranco is a lifelong resident of Baltimore County where he grew up, and he and his wife, Kim, raised their two daughters. Before being appointed by Governor Hogan to the Baltimore County Circuit Court in September of 2022, Judge Barranco was an accomplished litigator and trial attorney, having practiced law for 37 years at top quality large and small law firms. Judge Barranco’s legal practice was based in Baltimore County for the last 24 years before his appointment, but his experience included handling cases in state trial courts located all over the state as well as federal courts and appellate courts. Judge Barranco represented a wide variety of clients, ranging from individuals and small local businesses to large national corporations, in all types of civil cases. Because of his broad experience, Judge Barranco has a thorough understanding of the perspectives of the diverse types of parties who appear in court.

Judge Barranco distinguished himself at the University of Maryland School of Law, graduating with honors and winning two awards for best work in the subject of admissibility of evidence. He is an active member of the Baltimore County Bar Association, having served as Chair of several committees, including the Professionalism, Advocate and By-Law Committees, and he presently serves on the Executive Council of the BCBA. Judge Barranco has served as a mentor to law students, including those participating in the BCBA’s Summer Scholars program. Judge Barranco was the 2021 recipient of the J. Earle Plumhoff Professionalism Award, presented by the Baltimore County Bar Association. The Plumhoff Award is presented only once a year to a member in recognition of professional contributions to the Bar Association which have “gone largely unnoticed, and the recipient must have the highest marks for integrity, dignity, and civility.” Judge Barranco is also an active member of the Maryland State Bar Association. He served on the MSBA Board of Governors and was a member of the MSBA Strategic Implementation Committee. For years, Judge Barranco was an instructor at the MSBA’s deposition training program for the continuing legal education of lawyers. In 2019 Judge Barranco was elected as a lifetime Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation. Fellows are MSBA members who have demonstrated outstanding dedication and contribution to maintaining honor and integrity of the legal profession, the improvement and facilitation of the administration of justice, the work of the MSBA and civic leadership.

Over the years, Judge Barranco has been active volunteering in his community, including chaperoning nursing home residents to church at Stella Maris, helping to coach his daughter’s LTRC rec league sports team, volunteering for summer swim meets, organizing a tree planting event, planning food drives for a local charity and other volunteer events for his college alumni association, organizing and promoting CPR classes, serving on an HOA board of directors, raising money for his high school, college and law school, and when he was younger, serving as a volunteer firefighter. In September of 2014 Judge Barranco received a Certificate of Recognition from the Baltimore County Office of Fire Chief for performing life saving CPR on his wife, Kim, when she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in May of 2014. One of Judge Barranco’s inspirations and role models for public service was his father, the late Dr. Frank T. Barranco, who, among his many volunteer activities, served for years as the chief physician of the Lutherville Volunteer Fire Department and the Baltimore County Fire Department. Judge Barranco is honored that he is now able to use his extensive legal experience to serve the public as a judge on the Baltimore County Circuit Court and have a positive impact on the lives of Baltimore County citizens in that role.

Vote to retain Judge Michael S. Barranco who was appointed to the Baltimore County Circuit Court bench by way of gubernatorial appointment. After a rigorous vetting and extensive interview process, Judge Barranco was nominated by the Baltimore County Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission, having been determined to meet the Maryland constitutional standard as “most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound legal knowledge.” The Judicial Nominating Commission considers each applicant's integrity, maturity, temperament, diligence, legal knowledge, intellectual ability, professional experience, community service and any other qualifications the Commission deems important for judicial service.

Patricia DeMaio

Patricia DeMaio graduated from Morgan State University in May 1996 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Telecommunications. She subsequently attended Temple University School of Law and received her Juris Doctorate in May 1999. Following law school, Patricia served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Renee Cardwell Hughes in the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Patricia went on to become an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia. Patricia began her tenure as an Assistant District Attorney in the Municipal Court Unit and after handling misdemeanor, juvenile, narcotics and other general felony matters, Patricia joined the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.

Please click here to read the judge’s full biography

In 2005 Patricia became a full-time faculty member at Howard University School of Law teaching Legal Reasoning, Research and Writing and directing their Academic Achievement Program. In addition to teaching at Howard’s Law School, Patricia also served as the Director of the mock trial competition for the National Bar Association’s Crump Law Camp. In this program high school students from around the country were exposed to the legal profession through an integrated trial advocacy program. Patricia taught the students the fundamentals of trial practice and oral argument.

In 2008, after meeting Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy, Patricia DeMaio returned to Baltimore as an Assistant State’s Attorney. Patricia served in both the Domestic Violence and Sex Offense units.

With a desire to diversify her legal experience, Patricia left the State’s Attorney’s office in 2011 and began employment with the Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company formally the Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund. As an attorney in the legal department, Patricia litigated Workers’ Compensation claims and advised the claims department on legal issues affecting medical treatment, indemnity and insurance coverage issues. While at Chesapeake, Patricia had the opportunity to appear before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. In 2014, Patricia was promoted to Senior Attorney and was elected to the board of the Negligence, Insurance and Workers’ Comp section of the Maryland State Bar Association.

Feeling called to serve the community, in 2015, Patricia returned to the Office of the States Attorney for Baltimore City as the Deputy State’s Attorney for Operations. In this role, Patricia supervised the Charging Division, District Court Division, Misdemeanor Jury Trial Division, Mental Health Court, Drug Treatment Court, and Training Division. In September 2016, Patricia became the Deputy States Attorney for Major Trials where she coordinated the strategic reorganization of the Felony Division into three smaller more specialized divisions: Narcotics, General Felony, and the Gun Violence Enforcement Division. In addition to supervising those divisions, Patricia also supervised the Homicide and Special Victims Unit. Patricia successfully advocated for and implemented the SAO’s first comprehensive Administrative Leadership Training Program designed to create a direct pathway for the professional advancement for secretarial staff members thereby creating a multi-dimensional cross trained workforce while increasing staff morale. Patricia established a monthly joint command staff meeting between the SAO and the Baltimore Police Department, and served as the liaison between the SAO and the Circuit Court Grand Jury Judge.

In March 2021, Patricia was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). The OAH handles appeals from decisions from more than 30 State agencies involving over 500 case types. As an ALJ, Patricia was responsible for conducting fair and timely due process hearings. Most notably, Patricia has presided over Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Department of Human Services, Maryland Insurance Administration, Child Abuse and Neglect, Inmate Grievances, State Personnel Management System Employee Grievances and Terminations, and Maryland State Department of Education Special Education and Office of Child Care matters. Patricia is a certified mediator and has conducted mediations in Foreclosure, Patient Bill of Rights, and Special Education matters.

In January 2024, Patricia was appointed by Governor Wes Moore as an Associate Judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore County.

Patricia is a member of the Alliance of Black Women Attorneys of Maryland, Inc., Baltimore County Bar Association, Maryland State Bar Association, Monumental City Bar Association, National Association of Women Judges, Women’s Bar Association of Maryland, Inc., and The Serjeants’ Inn, a Baltimore law club formed in 1961.

Marc A. DeSimone, Jr.

Judge DeSimone is an associate judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, appointed by Governor Wes Moore in 2023.

A 2004 graduate of Maryland Carey Law, Judge DeSimone also holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Maryland.

Prior to his judicial service, Judge DeSimone served as an assistant public defender in the Appellate Division of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, delivering over 60 arguments before the appellate courts of Maryland, including 14 before the Supreme Court of Maryland.

Please click here to read the judge’s full biography

Judge DeSimone is also a lecturer of law and director of the Moot Court Program at Maryland Carey Law. He has been a member of the law school faculty since 2007 and was recognized as Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2015. In law school, Judge DeSimone was named the Best Oralist of the 2003 Morris B. Meyerowitz Moot Court Competition.

After graduation from law school, he clerked for the Hon. Vanessa Ruiz of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and served in private practice before joining the Office of the Public Defender.

He serves on the board of directors of Unified Community Connections and has been recognized as Volunteer of the Year by United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland. He is a past recipient of the Baltimore County Bar Association's Judith P. Ritchey Award and has received the University of Maryland, Baltimore's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Diversity Recognition Award.

Judge DeSimone is the 2024 recipient of the Benjamin L. Cardin ’67 Public Service Award which is presented by Maryland Carey Law to an alumnus who has demonstrated significant and substantial contributions to furthering ideals of public service in the law.

James Rhodes

Before being appointed to the bench, Judge Rhodes practiced law for 26 years. He served as the legal chair to the NAACP, while also providing pro bono work to local law enforcement, and government attorneys. Judge Rhodes began his career at house counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance company and eventually running his solo firm for 24 years thereafter. He was a trial lawyer, handled cases in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., South Carolina, State Courts, and Federal Courts. As an attorney, Judge Rhodes consistently tried cases in several areas of the law, including criminal defense matters, civil litigation, family law, as well as estates and trusts. Judge Rhodes has also handled appellate matters and he has argued issues that have been published at both the Maryland Appellate Court and the Supreme Court of Maryland. Judge Rhodes would eventually be inducted into the Monumental Bar Association’s Hall of Fame. Outside of the law, he volunteers his time, monthly, serving the homeless community and supporting social services’ food pantries. This service has continued over the past 13 years. Judge Rhodes is a graduate of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, The University of Vermont, and The Western New England University School of Law. He was selected by Governor Hogan’s Judicial nominating committee to be qualified as a Judge and the appointed by Governor Moore to the Baltimore County Circuit Court bench.

Baltimore County Sitting Judges

The Maryland Judicial Appointment Process:

Why Are These Judges Running?

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Judges

Michael Barranco

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Patricia DeMaio

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Marc A. DeSimone, Jr.

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James Rhodes

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