George L. Russell III

George L. Russell III
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office May 1, 2024
Preceded by	James K. Bredar
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office May 22, 2012
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Peter J. Messitte
Personal details
Born	George Levi Russell III (1965-09-04) September 4, 1965 (age 59) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Education	Morehouse College (BA) University of Maryland (JD)

George Levi Russell III (born September 4, 1965) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Biography

George Levi Russell III was born in Baltimore, Maryland.^[1] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1988. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1991. He served as a law clerk for Judge Robert M. Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals from 1991 to 1992. He worked at Hazel & Thomas PC from 1992 to 1994. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1994 to 1999 handling civil matters. He worked at the law firm of Peter G. Angelos, PC from 2000 to 2002. He again served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 2002 to 2007 handling criminal cases. He was appointed as an associate judge of the Circuit Court of Maryland in Baltimore where he served from 2007 until 2012.^[2][3]

Federal judicial service

On November 10, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Russell to be a district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.^[2] He would replace Judge Peter J. Messitte, who assumed senior status in 2008. He received his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on January 26, 2012 and his nomination was reported to the floor on February 16, 2012 by voice vote, with Senator Mike Lee recording the only no vote. On May 14, 2012, the Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote. He received his commission on May 22, 2012.^[3] Russell became the chief judge on May 1, 2024, after James K. Bredar assumed senior status.^[4][5]

See also

• List of African-American federal judges
• List of African-American jurists

References

1. "Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
2. Office of the Press Secretary (10 November 2011). "President Obama Nominates Four to Serve on the US District Court Bench". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 11 November 2011 – via National Archives.
3. George L. Russell III at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
4. "Chief Judge James K. Bredar to Assume Senior Status on April 30, 2024". mdd.uscourts.gov. October 12, 2023. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
5. "Chief Judge Transition" (Press release). United States District Court for the District of Maryland. May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.

External links

• George L. Russell III at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• George L. Russell III at Ballotpedia

Legal offices
Preceded by Peter J. Messitte	Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland 2012–present	Incumbent
Preceded by James K. Bredar	Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland 2024–present