Longtime judge retires in Western MD as courthouse expansion begins

Washington County District Court has a judgeship vacancy after a longtime judge recently retired.

Maryland Chief Judge John P. Morrissey announced during a Tuesday, March 24, groundbreaking ceremony for an addition to the courthouse that longtime Washington County District Court Judge Mark D. Thomas is now in “senior status.”

That means Thomas is retired, but can and is still serving as one of the judges subbing in for his vacancy and in the future when other judges take vacations.

The addition to the courthouse will provide room for a third courtroom and chambers to add a third judge for a District Court that has long been in need of an extra judge, said Morrissey and Judge Eric Schaffer, District Court administrative judge for Washington and Frederick counties. Judge Victoria Lobley is the only current full-time District Court judge assigned to serve Washington County.

Thomas attended the groundbreaking behind the courthouse on Tuesday afternoon and was one of the officials who got to toss some ceremonial dirt.

Thomas said he served as a District Court judge for almost 20 years. Before that, he was an attorney for 20 years, including at Meyers, Young, Grove & Thomas, where he said he mostly handled civil cases. He also was a part-time Washington County assistant state’s attorney.

Thomas is known for sharing personal stories as life lessons when he addresses not only the defendant or both parties in cases, but also asking for those waiting in the courtroom gallery to listen.

“I hope I helped people change their trajectory,” he said of his career as a judge.

District Court oversees mostly misdemeanor cases, not the most serious cases — though its judges also oversee many bond hearings.

Thomas said if he handled the younger people he saw in court correctly, maybe that keeps them from ending up in the Maryland Division of Correction that oversees state prisons.

“That’s what I hope I did,” said Thomas, who retired at the end of 2025.

What’s the status of the process to fill the vacant judgeship?

The deadline for applications for the vacant Washington County District Court judgeship is April 6, Maryland Judiciary spokesperson Nick Cavey said.

According to the Maryland Judiciary’s website, qualifications for the judgeship include being:

• A U.S. and Maryland citizen
• A Maryland resident for at least five years
• A resident, for at least six months, in the geographic area where the vacancy exists
• At least 30 years old at the time of appointment
• A member in the Maryland Bar
• Registered to vote in state elections at the time of appointment

The state constitution also addresses generally “that those selected for judgeships shall be lawyers ‘most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound legal knowledge,’ ” according to the Judiciary’s website.

Reporting by Julie E. Greene, The Herald-Mail / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.