Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Wednesday announced that his chief legislative officer, Joseph M. Getty, will fill a vacancy on the state’s highest court.
The governor said he also tapped circuit court judges Donald E. Beachley and Melanie M. Shaw Geter to serve on Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals, the state’s intermediate appellate court.
Getty, who graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1996, is a former Republican state senator and delegate who represented parts of Baltimore and Carroll counties.
He served on the Senate and House judicial committees during his time in the General Assembly. Getty was also chief legislative liaison for Maryland’s last Republican governor, Robert L. Ehrlich, who held the office from 2003 through 2007.
“Joe is a devoted public servant who has spent his entire career and a good portion of his life in service to his community and to our state,” Hogan said in a statement. “His unquestionable integrity, deep legal expertise and devotion to the people of Maryland make him an excellent fit for the state’s highest court.”
Getty will serve on Maryland’s seven-member Court of Appeals, filling a vacancy created by the April retirement of Judge Lynne A. Battaglia, who was appointed by Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) in 2001.
Beachley has served as a judge with the Washington County Circuit Court since 1997. He was born in Frederick and graduated with honors from U-Md.’s law school in 1980, later serving as a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court in Maryland.
Shaw Geter, who was born in Baltimore, has served as a judge with the Prince George’s County Circuit Court since 2001. She graduated from the U-Md. law school in 1981 and later worked as an assistant state’s attorney for Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.
Hogan said Beachley and Shaw Geter were “the most qualified candidates” to fill the vacancies, noting that they have more than 40 years of judicial experience combined.