About me
CHIEF JUDGE MORRISSEY graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University, and in 1989 earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Baltimore School of Law. While at the University of Baltimore, Judge Morrissey was Editor-in-Chief of Volume 18 of the Law Review.
He started his career as an associate with the law firm of Venable, Baetjer and Howard concentrating his practice on complex tort litigation. In 1992, Chief Judge Morrissey joined his three brothers in forming the law firm of Morrissey Brothers, P.C. In 2003, Judge Morrissey was named counsel to the Prince George’s County Board of Elections.
In November 2005, Chief Judge Morrissey was appointed a District Court Judge for Prince George’s County. On June 1, 2014, Judge Morrissey was named Chief Judge of the District Court of Maryland.
Chief Judge Morrissey is a member of the Judicial Council Executive Committee, the Chair of the Judicial Council District Court Chief Judge’s Committee and Co-Chair of the Judicial Council Major Projects Committee. He also serves on the Judicial Council Legislative Committee, Equal Justice Committee, Technology Committee, and the Judicial Compensation Committee. He is currently a Member of the Justice Reinvestment Act Oversight Board. Previously, Chief Judge Morrissey has been the Vice-Chair of the Access to Justice Commission, a Member of the Governor’s Task Force on Civil Right to Counsel, a Member of the Governor’s Commission on Pretrial Reform, a Member of the Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy and a Member of the Judicial Ethics Committee. He was named Judge of the Year in 2013-2014 by the Maryland State Bar Association Litigation Section. The Daily Record named Chief Judge Morrissey an Influential Marylander in Law in 2017 and placed him on the Power 100 List in 2021. Finally, in 2022, Chief Judge Morrissey received the ABA William R. McMahon award for technological advances in a court of limited jurisdiction.