Judicial discipline panel schedules 4-day hearing for Prince George’s judge

Maryland’s Commission on Judicial Discipline will hold a four-day hearing in December to weigh misconduct charges against a Prince George’s County circuit judge who blamed the allegations on a toxic work environment.

Judge April T. Ademiluyi’s public hearing will take place on December 13, 14, 20 and 21, according to a notice posted on the commission’s website.

The charges against Ademiluyi, along with her response, became public late last month. Commission investigators levied a list of allegations that included showing bias toward criminal defendants, refusing to participate in training and making disparaging comments about court staff and other judges.

Ademiluyi acknowledged in her response that she sometimes made “unkind” comments — though her lawyer, Steven D. Silverman, wrote that she was responding to hostility from her colleagues.

Ademiluyi joined the bench in 2020 after pulling off a surprise win in the primary election. Her written response to the misconduct charges claimed that she was treated poorly by colleagues because she unseated a popular incumbent and ran as a progressive who would challenge the status quo.

“Collectively, (the) hostility created a toxic environment within the courthouse,” Silverman wrote in Ademiluyi’s response to the charges. “As a result, Judge Ademiluyi became defensive and at times responded unkindly to the hostility that she felt was directed at her.”

The charges alleged that Ademiluyi refused to take part in training for new judges after joining the bench and was generally “insubordinate and obstinate.”

The charges also accused her of showing bias against a criminal defendant charged with rape and of making improper comments showing support for sexual assault survivors and the Me Too movement during her campaign to become a judge.

The commission’s investigators also claimed that Ademiluyi mishandled family court cases, “openly disparaged” her colleagues and staff and was “routinely late and/or unavailable” for work.

Ademiluyi in her response denied showing bias against criminal defendants, including in the rape case. Her campaign statements also are not sanctionable, Silverman wrote, because challengers in judicial races are not required to follow the same rules as incumbent judges while running for office.

The response also acknowledged that Ademiluyi’s emails about other judges were sometimes “unkind,” but claimed that her comments to staff were intended to encourage professional development and do not qualify as sanctionable conduct.

The first two dates of Ademiluyi’s hearing will take place at the Appellate Court of Maryland in Annapolis. The second two days will be held at the Judicial College of Maryland, also in Annapolis, according to the public notice.