Jonathan Biran

Justice, Supreme Court of Maryland

Jonathan Biran has served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Maryland for the 5th Appellate Judicial Circuit serving Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties for over four years.

Appointed by former Gov. Larry Hogan, Biran plays a key role in writing judicial opinions on some of the state’s most pressing issues. He is most proud of the opinion he wrote for Belton v. State, where the court held the right to a fair trial includes the right to a fair appellate process.

The opinion stated “Judges must vigilantly guard both their actual impartiality and their appearance of impartiality” and was deemed “meticulously reasoned and solidly supported” by the editorial board of The Daily Record.

Other opinions that Biran composed were Richardson v. State, which held that a cellphone search warrant that allowed police to search every file on the suspect’s cellphone violated the Fourth Amendment’s particularity amendment; and Smith v. State which ordered a new trial for a criminal defendant because courtroom bailiffs at his trial – which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic – wore face coverings displaying the thin blue line of the American flag.

The court held the display of the pro-law enforcement message by the bailiffs in the courtroom was inherently prejudicial to the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

Committed to ensuring that the rule of law remains the rule in Maryland, Biran takes his role with the highest regard. Prior to being appointed to his current position, Biran ran a private law practice in Baltimore. For 18 years prior, he served as a federal prosecutor, including service as the Appellate Chief at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Temple Beth Shalom.