Judge of the Circuit Court in Judicial Circuit 8, Maryland

2026 Primary Election

• Catherine Chen — Judge of the Circuit Court in Judicial Circuit 8, Maryland

  The Honorable Catherine Chen is an incumbent candidate in the nonpartisan judicial primary for the Maryland 8th Circuit Court in Baltimore City. Appointed to the Circuit Court by Governor Wes Moore in June 2025, she previously served on the District Court for Baltimore City. Before her judicial career, Judge Chen was an Assistant State's Attorney in the Special Victims Unit, prosecuting child abuse and intimate partner violence. She also worked for the House of Ruth Domestic Violence Legal Clinic. A child of Taiwanese immigrants, Chen earned a degree from Tufts University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

• Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill — Judge of the Circuit Court in Judicial Circuit 8, Maryland

  Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill is running for re-election as Judge of the Circuit Court for Maryland's 8th Judicial Circuit in Baltimore City. Competing in the 2026 Judicial primary, he has served as an Associate Judge on the 8th Circuit Court since 2009 and as Judge-in-Charge of the Civil Division since 2018. Before his judicial appointment, Fletcher-Hill worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Maryland Office of Attorney General from 1990 to 2000, where he later became Chief of Litigation. He earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his J.D. from Yale Law School. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1990.

• Kimberly C. McBride — Judge of the Circuit Court in Judicial Circuit 8, Maryland

  Kimberly C. McBride is a Judicial candidate running for Judge of the Circuit Court in Maryland's 8th Judicial Circuit, serving Baltimore City. Appointed by Governor Wes Moore, she has been an Associate Judge since September 2024. Before this, she was a U.S. Department of Justice Immigration Judge from 2023 to 2024. McBride also dedicated thirteen years as a Family Magistrate for the Baltimore City Circuit Court from 2010 to 2023. Her career began as a solo practitioner in 1996. She earned a Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Maryland in 1990 and her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1995.

• Piper Faith McKeithen — Judge of the Circuit Court in Judicial Circuit 8, Maryland

  Piper Faith McKeithen is an incumbent judge running in the nonpartisan judicial election for the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in Maryland. Appointed by Governor Wes Moore in 2024, Judge McKeithen brings extensive legal experience to the bench. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Baltimore and her Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School. Prior to her appointment, she served as Assistant Chief Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security in Baltimore. Her distinguished career also includes fourteen years with the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office and service as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.

• Hope Tipton — Judge of the Circuit Court in Judicial Circuit 8, Maryland

  Hope Tipton is a judicial candidate running for election as a Judge of the Circuit Court for Maryland's 8th Judicial Circuit in Baltimore City. She was appointed to the bench by Governor Wes Moore in February 2024. Previously, Tipton served as a Family Magistrate for the Baltimore City Circuit Court from 2013 to 2024. She also worked as the Executive Director of the Maryland Legal Services Program and founded Project HEAL to provide legal services to children. Tipton earned her B.A. from Transylvania University and her J.D. from Syracuse University. She teaches law as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland.

• Levi S. Zaslow — Judge of the Circuit Court in Judicial Circuit 8, Maryland

  Levi S. Zaslow is a nonpartisan incumbent Associate Judge for the Baltimore City Circuit Court, 8th Judicial Circuit, in Maryland. Appointed by Governor Wes Moore, he assumed office in March 2024. Zaslow earned a B.S. from Excelsior College and a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2008. Early on, he served as a law clerk to Judge Althea M. Handy. Before his judicial appointment, he worked in private practice as an attorney at Joseph Greenwald & Laake, P.A., and later as a partner at Smithey Law Group and Hijazi, Zaslow & Carroll, P.A.. He is running for re-election to the 8th Circuit Court in 2026.