FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2022

Government Relations and Public Affairs 187 Harry S. Truman Parkway Annapolis, Maryland 21401 410-260-1488

Judge Geoffrey G. Hengerer named District Administrative Judge for the District Court of Maryland in Baltimore City

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Baltimore City District Court Judge Geoffrey G. Hengerer has been named administrative judge for District 1 (Baltimore City) of the District Court of Maryland. Judge Hengerer succeeds District Administrative Judge Halee F. Weinstein, who will retire on August 4, 2022, after 20 years on the bench.

After consulting with and receiving the approval of Court of Appeals of Maryland Chief Judge Matthew J. Fader, District Court of Maryland Chief Judge John P. Morrissey named Judge Hengerer district administrative judge, effective May 13, 2022. Judge Weinstein will remain on the bench through August 4, and will assist with the transition in leadership.

District administrative judges oversee the administration of the court, budget, and procurement functions. They also manage trial calendars to ensure the expeditious disposition of cases.

“I congratulate Judge Weinstein on 20 years of exemplary service to the Maryland Judiciary as a leader in the District Court in Baltimore City,” said Court of Appeals of Maryland Chief Judge Matthew J. Fader. “Her extraordinary vision and leadership will certainly be missed and we appreciate her service and dedication both over the years and now as she passes the torch to Judge Hengerer, who is more than prepared for the administrative judge role.”

Judge Hengerer was appointed as an associate judge to the District Court in Baltimore City in July 2018 by Governor Larry Hogan. He currently serves on the Maryland Judiciary’s Judicial Council Education Committee’s New Trial Judge Mentor Subcommittee and as judge-in-charge at the District Court’s Wabash Avenue courthouse in northwest Baltimore.

“Judge Weinstein has served the people of Baltimore with honor and distinction over the past 20 years and, in particular, she has done an outstanding job as the founder and presiding judge of the District Court in Baltimore City’s veterans treatment court program,” said Chief Judge John P. Morrissey, District Court of Maryland. “I congratulate Judge Weinstein on a stellar career serving the people of Maryland. I also look forward to working with Judge Hengerer as he assumes the administrative judge leadership role in Baltimore City.”

Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Hengerer served as corporate counsel for Keller Foundations, LLC in Hanover, Maryland from May 2017 through June 2018. At Keller, he provided legal advice and support to the North American division of a global geo-technical engineering and construction company and various subsidiaries. Judge Hengerer served as deputy legal counsel to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan from February 2015, to April 2017, counseling Governor Hogan and his staff regarding constitutional issues, executive authority, separation of powers, regulatory matters, ethics, administrative law, and litigation. He served in that role through three legislative sessions of the Maryland General Assembly.

Judge Hengerer also worked for several years in private practice, focusing on commercial litigation, government investigations, white collar criminal defense, and administrative matters. He worked as an associate at Steptoe & Johnson, LLC, in Washington, D.C. from 2007 through 2013, and from 2013 to 2015, he worked as a member of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin, and White, LLC, in Baltimore.

“I am honored and humbled by Chief Judge Fader and Chief Judge Morrissey’s confidence in me, and I am excited about the opportunity to lead the District Court in Baltimore City,” said Judge Hengerer. “I look forward to working with each of my judicial colleagues and court staff in Baltimore City to serve the people of Maryland.”

Judge Hengerer began his legal career as a judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps. He served on active duty from 2002 through 2007 as defense counsel assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and he served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Judge Hengerer deployed as the deputy staff judge advocate for the Second Marine Aircraft Wing in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was selected as the deputy staff judge advocate for Cherry Point Air Station upon his return. Judge Hengerer continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, including his current assignment as a military judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary.

Judge Hengerer graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Amherst College, where he was a four-year member of the varsity lacrosse team. He earned a juris doctorate in 2002 from the University of Baltimore School of Law, graduating magna cum laude, and was the managing editor of the Law Review. Judge Hengerer was admitted to the Maryland bar in 2002.

“I am honored to have served the people of Baltimore City, and of Maryland, for the past 20 years,” said Baltimore City District Court Administrative Judge Halee F. Weinstein. “From continuing the Judiciary’s legacy of providing problem-solving courts through the creation of the Veterans Treatment Court, to serving each and every litigant before me, and to working with the wonderful and dedicated staff at the District Court, it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve. I have worked with Judge Hengerer over the past several years. He is an outstanding judge, and I am confident that Judge Hengerer’s leadership will ensure that the Judiciary’s mission of providing fair, efficient, and effective justice for all continues well into the future.”

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