Chief Administrative Law Judge Thomas Dewberry to retire

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After nearly 18 years on the job, Maryland Chief Administrative Law Judge Thomas Dewberry has decided to retire effective Dec. 1.

A Maryland native, Dewberry, 68, said he felt it was time to step down so he can spend time with his family and two granddaughters while he’s in good health.

“I don’t want to use the old, tired thing of wanting to spend time with my family, but I do,” Dewberry said.

Looking back at his tenure in the Office of Administrative Hearings, Dewberry said he will greatly miss the job and the colleagues he’s worked with since being appointed to the position in May 2002.

In explaining his decision, Dewberry said he was at the end of a third six-year term and wouldn’t want to serve another six years if reappointed by Gov. Larry Hogan.

“I certainly wasn’t interested in doing another six years,” Dewberry said.

Before being appointed to his current position, Dewberry spent 22 years as a senior hearing examiner with the Maryland Public Service Commission. He is also a former state delegate who was elected in 1990, 1994 and 1998.

Dewberry graduated from UMBC in 1973 and from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1977.

The Office of Administrative Hearings deals with cases involving more than 30 state agencies. Dewberry said he has handled more than 500 types of hearings as a judge and says he loved the variety.

“I’m very proud of the years I’ve been here and all the employees I worked with, especially the other administrative law judges and their dedication to providing due process,” Dewberry said.

Dewberry said he doesn’t know who Hogan will select to replace him, adding that he wrote the governor in mid-September to inform him of his plan to retire on Dec. 1.

Following Dewberry’s retirement, the office’s director of operations, Jana Burch, will serve as acting chief administrative law judge, Dewberry said.