ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced the appointments of Magistrate Kevin R. Hill to the St. Mary’s County Circuit Court and The Honorable Catherine Chen to the Baltimore City Circuit Court.
“The St. Mary’s County and Baltimore City Circuit Courts are gaining two remarkable stewards of the law,”
said Gov. Moore. “These appointees are dedicated public servants, and I am confident that they will continue their work to bring our state ever-closer to the full promise of equal justice for all.”
Magistrate Kevin R. HillMagistrate Kevin R. Hill has spent almost his entire legal career in public service, currently serving as the magistrate for the St. Mary’s County Circuit Court. He previously served as a public defender in Charles, St. Mary’s, and Calvert Counties, representing indigent juveniles and adults in circuit and district courts. In 2016, he was sworn in as an assistant state’s attorney in St. Mary’s County, where he handled civil, misdemeanor, and felony cases, and represented the St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services Child Support Division. Magistrate Hill is also an adjunct associate professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus, where he has taught business, litigation and professional development classes to undergraduate students. Prior to attending law school, Magistrate Hill was the general manager of his family's restaurants in St. Mary's County for over 15 years.
Magistrate Hill earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and his law degree from the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law.
The Honorable Catherine ChenThe Honorable Catherine Chen has been a judge on the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City since her appointment in 2018. Before her appointment to the district court, Judge Chen spent time in both criminal and civil practices, focusing on serving the disenfranchised and underserved communities. Prior to her appointment, she served as a prosecutor in the Special Victims Unit of the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, specializing in prosecuting intimate partner violence, child abuse, and child pornography felonies and misdemeanors. Before joining the Office of the State’s Attorney, Judge Chen worked as a staff attorney at the House of Ruth Domestic Violence Legal Clinic and as a staff attorney at the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, Inc. Judge Chen began her legal career as a staff attorney for the Administration for Children’s Services in Queens, and as a public defender for juveniles in the Bronx and Brooklyn, in New York City.
Judge Chen, a child of Taiwanese immigrants, earned her bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and her law degree from Brooklyn Law School. She received her high school diploma from the Bryn Mawr School.
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