MD Supreme Court had ‘no trouble’ deciding to remove Anne Arundel Judge Marc Knapp

The Maryland Supreme Court said it had “no trouble” deciding to remove Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court Judge Marc Knapp from office last month.

The state’s high court issued an opinion Friday explaining its reasoning for removing the judge on June 4 for numerous violations of the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct stemming from his conflict with fellow judge Vickie Gipson.

“We had no trouble here concluding that Judge Knapp engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice,” Justice Brynja Booth wrote.

One fact — that Knapp deleted recordings in front of police officers after being accused of recording his colleagues without their consent — was a sufficient basis for removal. That was the “headliner” amid a long list of rules violations,” Booth wrote.

“Such conduct is — without a doubt — fundamentally incompatible with judicial office and erodes public confidence and trust in the Judiciary,” she wrote. “The public must have assurance that we will not tolerate such intentional and lawless behavior at any level of the Judiciary.”

His continued service “would not have resulted in a court that properly serves the public,” she wrote.

“We have no reason to believe that a lesser sanction would have caused Judge Knapp to amend his ways. For these reasons, we determined that Judge Knapp’s removal from office was the only disposition sufficient to preserve the integrity of the Judiciary, and assure the public that the Judiciary will not, and does not, condone such egregious misconduct.”

Knapp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The opinion was unanimous. Senior justices Glenn Harrell Jr. and Robert McDonald were specially assigned in place of Chief Justice Matthew Fader and Justice Peter Killough.

Knapp and Gipson, the court’s chief judge, began clashing shortly into his tenure in early 2023. Neither was able to deescalate the conflict. Gipson prevented him from writing dissents, and he acknowledged that he did not respect her as a writer or lawyer. Saying she feared for her safety, Gipson obtained a temporary peace order, had security personnel stationed in the judges’ chamber and twice called police to the court when Knapp didn’t do what she asked.

Knapp was removed following an investigation by the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities, which in March recommended that he be removed on an expedited basis.

The Supreme Court removed him on the same day it heard arguments. Knapp was not present for the hearing; his attorney, William C. Brennan Jr. of Greenbelt, argued that he should face sanctions short of removal.

Even though he was removed, his ouster was not necessarily permanent. The court’s decision did not prevent him from seeking reelection, and the Maryland General Assembly did not pass a bill this spring that would have prevented expelled judges from seeking reelection.

But voters appeared to have had enough of the ordeal. Knapp will not return to the seat after placing last among four Democrats in last month’s primary election; he will not advance to the November general election.

The Maryland Supreme Court has not yet taken action on Gipson’s case. Her hearing before the court is scheduled for Sept. 9, according to Maryland Judiciary Case Search. In May, the Commission on Judicial Disabilities recommended that Gipson be removed. She did not run for reelection.

Booth wrote that Knapp wasn’t exclusively at fault and that Gipson is not “free from blame.” But, Booth wrote, it remains “paramount” that judges cooperate.

“We expect more from members of the Judiciary at all levels,” she wrote.