ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced appointments to the statewide Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission. The appointments mark historic diversity among all of Maryland's judicial nominating commissions to date, as 57% of all commission members are women; 53% are people of color; 63% of commission chairs are women; and 75% of commission chairs are people of color.

Renee M. Hutchins, dean of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, will serve as chair of the Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission.

“Equity isn’t just compatible with excellence—it’s necessary. Our judicial nominating commissions speak to that truth,” said Gov. Moore. “These appointments represent our administration’s commitment to both enhancing representation in the justice system in our state and best serving the people of Maryland.”

There are sixteen Trial Court Judicial Nominating Commissions and one Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission established by executive order. The commissions advertise judicial vacancies, seek recommendations for judicial candidates from their own membership, bar associations and members of the general public, set closing dates for the submission of the judicial applications, and evaluate applicants based on a variety of factors including their integrity, temperament, legal knowledge, and professional experience.

Governor Moore’s appointees to the Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission include:

Renee M. Hutchins, Chair
Renee Hutchins became the dean of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 2022, rejoining the school after serving for three years as dean and professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law. Prior to joining UDC, Hutchins served for 14 years on the Maryland Carey Law faculty, including as the Jacob A. France Professor of Public Interest Law, co-director of the clinical law program, and founding director of the appellate and post-conviction advocacy clinic. She is a member of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission, and serves on the board of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Spelman College and her J.D. from Yale Law School. She previously served on the Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission from 2007-2019.

Kenneth L. Thompson, Sr.
Ken Thompson is a partner at Venable LLP practicing civil, commercial, and product liability litigation. Thompson is an active member of the Baltimore community, having served as chair and co-chair of the transition committees for the last two Baltimore mayors. He was additionally appointed by the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to serve as the lead monitor for the Baltimore City Police Department consent decree. Thompson is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a board member of the Baltimore Community Foundation. Thompson chaired the Baltimore City Judicial Nominating Commission from 1999-2007. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Liset Collazo-Dingle
Liset Collazo-Dingle is the managing attorney of Collazo-Dingle Law, LLC, where she practices in the areas of immigration, personal injury, bankruptcy, and criminal defense law. Collazo-Dingle serves as chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association. She is a board member of the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association, chair of the Monumental City Bar Foundation, and executive board member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. She earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude from Delaware State University and her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law. 

Diane E. Feuerherd
Diane E. Feuerherd chairs the litigation practice at Miller, Miller & Canby. She is an appellate and trial attorney focusing on business, real estate, and eminent domain litigation. Feuerherd began her career serving as law clerk to the Hon. Lynne A. Battaglia of the Supreme Court of Maryland. She serves on the peer review committee of the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, and as secretary and board member for the Maryland Bar Foundation. She was a member of the Maryland Judicial Council work group on judicial social media policy in 2016. Feuerherd earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Smith School of Business and her J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Leslie Florestano Peek
Leslie Florestano Peek recently joined the law firm Ferrante & Dill, LLC, as counsel. Prior to that she spent more than 30 years in the Maryland Office of the Public Defender representing clients in district and circuit court in Calvert, St. Mary’s, Charles, and Prince George’s counties, including more than 30 felony jury trials. She previously served on the judicial nominating commission for Calvert and Saint Mary’s counties. Peek received her bachelor’s degree from Loyola College in Baltimore and her J.D. from the University of Baltimore. After graduating from law school, she clerked for the Hon. Raymond Thieme on the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. 

Nicole Love-Kelly
Nicole Love-Kelly has been with the Office of the Public Defender for nearly 25 years. Currently, Love-Kelly is the managing attorney, which includes daily management and training of district court personnel. Prior to that, she was the acting chief attorney of the misdemeanor jury trial division and an assistant public defender in the felony trial division. She is a nationally trained faculty member of the Gideon's Promise Public Defender Training Program, a Maryland State Certified Trainer for the prevention of sexual harassment, and has participated as a lecturer and trainer in numerous legal workshops. She received her bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University and her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law. 

Paul Riekhof
Paul Riekhof has been the president and managing director of the law firm Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., since January 2022. Riekhof was previously an attorney at the law firm for more than 20 years, where he developed and handled a full-service estate and trust practice. Prior to joining the firm, he had his own solo practice focused on estate planning, employment matters, and union arbitration proceedings. He is active in local bar associations, has written extensively on estates and trusts law, and is past president of the board of directors of Family Services, Inc., now known as Sheppard Pratt-Gaithersburg. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and his J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law. 

Toni Holness
Toni Holness has worked as an assistant public defender in the Maryland Office of the Public Defender appellate division since 2020. Holness was previously the public policy director at the ACLU of Maryland, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Bureau, and a fellow in the Georgetown Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship. She was appointed to the Maryland Justice Reinvestment Advisory Board (2017-2020) and the Task Force to Study Maryland’s Criminal Gang Statutes (2018-2020). She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She obtained her master’s degree in economics and J.D. from Temple University. Holness received the Jews United for Justice Heschel Vision Award in November 2020 and was named the NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland Choice Advocate of the Year in 2019. 

Carrie J. Williams
Carrie J. Williams has served as counsel at Goodell, DeVries, Leach & Dann since January 2023, where she litigates complex civil cases in state and federal courts. Prior to that, she served as principal counsel for criminal policy in the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, where she advised the Attorney General on issues of criminal law, developed and implemented the criminal policy and legislative goals, and handled her own caseload of criminal appeals in the Maryland appellate courts. Prior to that role, she was the chief of the criminal appeals division, where she supervised 18 attorneys, was a senior assistant attorney general, and handled approximately 50 cases a year in Maryland appellate courts. Williams previously presented at Maryland State’s Attorneys Association conventions, and served as an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She received her bachelor’s degree from Emory University and her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law with honors. 

The Honorable Gary E. Bair
Hon. Gary E. Bair (Ret.) is of counsel to the law firm Raquin Mercer, LLC where his practice focuses on appellate litigation and federal criminal defense. Judge Bair served on the circuit court for Montgomery County from 2012 until his retirement in 2020. He was instrumental in developing and implementing the Mental Health Problem Solving Court, over which he co-presided for four years. Prior to his appointment to the court, he was a principal in the law firm of Bennett & Bair from 2004 to 2011, where his practice focused on criminal appeals and post-conviction matters. He served as solicitor general for criminal cases  in the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, as well as the chief of the criminal appeals division and chief of the Medicaid fraud control unit. He is active in the Maryland State Bar Association and was for many years an adjunct professor at the Washington College of Law at American University. He received his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law School.

Peter S. O’Neill
Peter O’Neill is a senior partner with the Law Offices of Murnane & O’Neill. During his 38 years as a criminal defense attorney, he has handled more than 20,000 trials including more than a dozen murder trials and thousands of felony trials. O’Neill obtained a Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Maryland. After receiving his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law he served as an assistant public defender in Anne Arundel County before opening his own practice. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and has been a member of the Maryland State Bar Association since 1986. O’Neill earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He served as a member of the judicial nominating commission for Anne Arundel County from 2003-2015.

Carville Collins
Carville Collins has practiced law with the law firm DLA Piper for more than 30 years, representing energy, telecom, transportation, water, and other regulated utilities before the Public Service Commission, other regulatory agencies and state trial and appellate courts. He has also advised clients on campaign finance, election law, lobbying and public ethics matters. In 2010, he was appointed by Attorney General Doug Gansler to the advisory committee on campaign finance. In 2022, he served on the Maryland judiciary’s work group to study judicial selection, established by the Chief Justice of the Maryland Supreme Court. He has served on the Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for 12 years. Collins is a board member of the Children’s Scholarship Fund of Baltimore and a philanthropy committee member of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. 

Andrew H. Baida
Andrew Baida is a partner in the law firm Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP, where his practice focuses on civil litigation involving commercial and administrative law, medical malpractice, and state and local government matters, with an emphasis on appellate litigation. Prior to joining the firm, he served as the solicitor general in the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, where he won numerous awards for brief writing and exceptional service, and served as a Supreme Court fellow with the National Association of Attorneys General. Baida was counsel of record for the State of Maryland in an original action filed in the United States Supreme Court challenging Maryland’s right to regulate the Potomac River. He has taught appellate advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland and University of Baltimore law schools and is a frequent lecturer and author on appellate practice. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. 

Joshua Civin
Joshua Civin has been the chief legal officer for Baltimore City Public Schools since 2020. Prior to that he was general counsel to Montgomery County Public Schools. In both roles he has provided legal advice, coordinated legal strategy, supervised legal staff and outside counsel, and conducted an array of legal work associated with oversight and operations of the public school systems. Prior to that, he was counsel to the director of litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., and was a litigation associate at Hogan & Hartson LLP. He received his bachelor’s degree and J.D. from Yale University, and was a Rhodes Scholar. After law school, he clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. Civin has presented frequently on educational law and policy and is board chair of the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership. 

Paul Pineau
Paul Pineau is the senior vice president and general counsel for Johns Hopkins University, and previously was the interim vice president, and vice provost for strategic initiatives. Prior to that, he was the chief of staff and special assistant state’s attorney in the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, and an associate at the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder. Pineau was on the board of directors of FreeState Legal Project and the board of directors of Tuerk House. He received his bachelor’s degree from Davidson College, magna cum laude, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude. After law school, he clerked on the federal trial and appellate courts. 

Gregory K. Wells
Gregory K. Wells is partner with the firm Shadoan, Michael & Wells, LLP, where he represents clients in medical malpractice, serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, where he currently serves as the college’s regent for Maryland and Washington, D.C. He is also the past chair of the college’s Thurgood Marshall Equality and Justice Award committee. He is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and serves as the chair of the admissions committee and member of the board and executive committee. He is also a member of the rules committee of the Maryland Supreme Court and is a member of the Prince George’s County Bar Association and the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association. Wells serves on the board of the Foundation for the Advancement of Music and Education, a Prince George’s County-based nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunities for young musicians. He received his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. 

Tara Harrison Jackson
Tara Harrison Jackson has been the chief administrative officer for government operations at the Prince George’s County Office of the County Executive since 2021, where she helps manage the daily operations of county government and develop county government policy. Prior to that, she was deputy chief administrative officer, the deputy county attorney for government operations in the county’s Office of Law, a state’s attorney in Prince George’s County, and associate at Marcus and Bonsib, LLC. She previously served on the Prince George’s County Judicial Nominating Commission. She received her bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. She also has a Master of Divinity in leadership development from the Phoenix Seminary. She is a frequent presenter at professional conferences and seminars and is active in community organizations. 

The Moore-Miller Administration will begin accepting applications for the remaining nine judicial nominating commissions in late October.