4 new judges appointed by MD Gov. Wes Moore

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore appointed four new judges to the bench, according to a Wednesday news release from his office.

Brian Anthony Marsh and Windy Rhea Ortega will both serve on the District Court for Anne Arundel County. Jessica Lynne Colwell goes to the District Court for Allegany County, and Elizabeth Dorothy Theobalds to Charles County District Court.

“It is an honor to appoint these talented public servants to Anne Arundel County, Allegany County, and Charles County,” Moore said in a statement. “These legal professionals bring with them invaluable experience and dedication to the advancement of justice under the law, as they continue to serve our state.”

Anne Arundel’s district court is getting one public official and one private practitioner. Marsh is the county’s deputy state’s attorney, previously working as an assistant attorney general for Maryland in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and as an assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore City’s Special Victims Unit. Meanwhile, Ortega “represents clients in a wide variety of litigation and routinely advocates for adult and juvenile clients across Maryland’s District, Circuit and Juvenile Courts” at her firm, Ortega Law, LLC, the release says. She previously litigated personal injury and wrongful death suits as of counsel for Parker, Pallett, Slezak & Russell, LLC.

“She is highly skilled in constitutional and evidentiary litigation, frequently drafting and arguing complex pretrial issues such as Fourth Amendment suppression motions and Franks hearings to challenge unlawful police searches and seizures,” the release reads.

Colwell is a longtime public defender, serving Allegany and Garrett counties. She also has a private practice background as a past civil litigation associate but then worked for 15 years in Baltimore City, most of them in Felony Trial Division of Baltimore City Circuit Court. Then, she became the supervising attorney in the Garrett County Public Defender’s Office, climbing the ladder to district public defender for both Western Maryland counties in 2021.

Theobalds has been deputy county attorney for Charles County since 2011, specializing in land use, zoning and local government law. She’s also taught at the University of Maryland, University College and the College of Southern Maryland.