Governor Wes Moore has appointed longtime Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Kendra Young Ausby to an at-large seat on the Appellate Court of Maryland, elevating her from the trial bench she has served on since 2010 to the state's intermediate court of appeals. The move caps a selection process that stretched across much of the year and fills a vacancy left by a retiring judge on the 15-member appellate panel.
According to the Maryland Daily Record, Moore said it is “an honor to appoint Judge Kendra Young Ausby to the Appellate Court of Maryland” and that she “will advance justice under the law and serve our state well.” The seat Ausby is filling opened after Judge Donald E. Beachley retired on February 1, 2026, stepping down early from the intermediate appellate court he had served on since 2016, according to the Maryland Appellate Blog.
Ausby's path to the appointment ran through a competitive screening process. The Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission selected her on June 30, 2026, as one of seven finalists recommended to Moore, drawn from a pool of 23 candidates that included eight sitting judges and 15 attorneys, the Maryland Appellate Blog reports.
A 16-Year Run on the Baltimore Bench
Ausby has served as an associate judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City since 2010, when then-Governor Martin O'Malley first appointed her to the trial bench, per the Maryland Daily Record. During her tenure she presided over thousands of cases and served as the judge in charge of the court's family and domestic division, handling matters ranging from medical malpractice and custody disputes to delinquency proceedings and constitutional criminal procedure.
In 2024, Ausby was designated for special assignment handling litigation under the Maryland Child Victims Act, a role tied to a surge of civil claims after state lawmakers eliminated statute-of-limitations caps on minor sexual abuse suits. More than 3,800 individuals filed CVA lawsuits statewide in April and May 2025, while Baltimore City had more than 1,250 such civil actions as of June 2, 2025, according to Conduit Street, underscoring the scale of the caseload she was brought in to help manage.
From Public Defender to the Attorney General's Office
Before joining the bench, Ausby built a career spanning both sides of Maryland's criminal justice system. She was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1998 after earning her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1997, per the Daily Record. She then served as an assistant public defender from 1998 to 2001, representing indigent clients facing criminal and delinquency charges in Baltimore City's district and circuit courts.
From 2001 to 2008, Ausby worked as an assistant attorney general for the Department of Juvenile Services, and from 2008 to 2010 she served as principal counsel for the Courts and Judicial Affairs Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, acting as in-house counsel on civil rights, torts, contracts and delinquency matters. Outside the courtroom, she served as president of the Monumental City Bar Association — Baltimore's oldest minority bar association — from 2005 to 2006, and received the Maryland Office of the Attorney General Public Service Award that same year, according to Ballotpedia.
What Confirmation Requires Next
Ausby's appointment is not final yet. Under Article IV of the Maryland Constitution, she must be confirmed by the Maryland State Senate, and once confirmed, she will need to stand for an uncontested retention election in the next general election following one year of service in order to secure a full 10-year term, Ballotpedia reports.
The Appellate Court of Maryland, which hears appeals from almost any case originating in a circuit court or an orphans’ court, is composed of 15 judges — eight chosen at-large and seven representing designated geographic circuits — all subject to a mandatory retirement age of 70, per the Maryland Courts system. The tribunal carried a different name until relatively recently: it was known as the Maryland Court of Special Appeals until November 2022, when voters approved a ballot measure renaming it the Appellate Court of Maryland as part of a broader effort to clarify court terminology statewide.
A Familiar Name in Baltimore Courtrooms
Baltimore readers may already recognize Ausby's name from recent high-profile rulings on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. In July, she ordered 24/7 home detention for an attempted murder suspect in an East Baltimore deli shooting following a contested bail review, as Hoodline reported at the time. A Fells Point shooting case was also covered, and earlier this year handled sentencing in a Baltimore murder plea agreement involving a teenage defendant.
Her elevation also highlights her own résumé, spanning the public defender's office, the attorney general's office and the family division bench.
Her promotion also leaves an open trial court seat in Baltimore City at a time when the local circuit court continues to manage heavy criminal dockets and complex civil caseloads, including the ongoing wave of Child Victims Act litigation she herself was assigned to help handle.
