MEET THE JUDGES
Catherine Chen
Associate Judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Governor Wes Moore appointed Catherine Chen to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on June 4, 2025; she was sworn in on June 25, 2025.
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Prior to her appointment to the Circuit Court, Governor Larry Hogan appointed Catherine Chen to the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City on June 6, 2018; she was sworn in on June 21, 2018. While serving on the District Court, Judge Chen served on multiple committees within the Judiciary, including the Rules Committee; the Domestic Violence and Peace Order Subcommittee; the Alternative Dispute Resolution Subcommittee; the Forms Subcommittee; and the Civil Law Subcommittee. Judge Chen co-chaired the annual Judicial Conference in 2022 and 2023. Judge Chen also taught many courses at the Judicial College, including consumer debt collection, rent court, sex offender dynamics, and foundations of criminal law.
Larry Fletcher-Hill
Associate Judge for the Circuit
Court for Baltimore City
Governor Martin O’Malley appointed Larry Fletcher-Hill to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in 2009, and voters subsequently elected him to a 15-year term in 2010. On the court, he has served as Judge in Charge of the Civil Docket for five years and as Director of the Business & Technology Case Management Program.
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Judge Fletcher-Hill is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School. He began his legal career in Massachusetts as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel, followed by work in private practice and in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. He moved to Baltimore in 1990 to join the Maryland Office of the Attorney General under Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., ultimately serving as Chief of Civil Litigation. He then practiced for ten years at Gordon Feinblatt LLC, where he chaired the litigation practice.
Kimberly McBride
Associate Judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Governor Wes Moore appointed Judge Kimberly C. McBride to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on September 4, 2024. She was sworn in on September 24, 2024.
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Before her appointment, Judge McBride served as an Immigration Judge with the Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review. In that role, Judge McBride presided over complex immigration matters involving asylum, removability, cancellation of removal, and adjustment of immigration status. Prior to her service as an Immigration Judge, Judge McBride served as a Family Magistrate for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. During this time, Judge McBride presided over cases involving juvenile delinquency and child welfare. Her cases addressed issues of child abuse and neglect, substance use disorders, domestic and family violence, and mental health.
Piper F. McKeithen
Associate Judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Judge Piper F. McKeithen was appointed to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in 2024.
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Judge McKeithen was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and reared in Baltimore City. She attended Baltimore City Schools, graduating from Baltimore City College High School in 1992. Judge McKeithen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1996. She received her law degree in 1999 from The George Washington University National Law Center.
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Judge McKeithen began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Lee F. Satterfield and the Honorable Thomas J. Motley, Associate Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Upon completing her clerkships, she continued her commitment to a career in public service by joining the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City.
Hope Tipton
Associate Judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Judge Hope Tipton was appointed to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on February 12, 2024, by Governor Wes Moore. Judge Tipton was sworn in as an Associate Judge on March 18, 2024, and presides over Part 6 for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Prior to her appointment as a judge, she served as a Family Magistrate with the Circuit Court for ten and a half years.
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Before her appointment as a Family Magistrate, she was the Executive Director of the Maryland Legal Services Program (MLSP) for the Department of Human Services (DHS), formerly the Department of Human Resources. MLSP ensures legal representation in Circuit Courts statewide for children in Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) and Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) cases, as well as for disabled adults in adult guardianship proceedings.
Levi S. Zaslow
Associate Judge for the Circuit
Court for Baltimore City
BIO COMING SOON.