Van Hollen, Cardin Introduce U.S. Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson at Senate Judiciary Hearing for Maryland U.S. District Court Seat

On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) presented U.S. Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson to the Senate Judiciary Committee for his hearing to be a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The senators had recommended Hurson to President Joe Biden to fill a current vacancy.

 “In Brendan Hurson, President Biden has nominated a judge deeply committed to providing Americans with fair, just, and equal treatment under the law. From his time volunteering and teaching in marginalized communities to his many years working as a public defender, Judge Hurson knows firsthand the importance of ensuring everyone has access to equal representation in our judicial system. His experience and devotion to upholding the highest standard of the law make him especially prepared to serve on the U.S. District Court, and I urge my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to advance this nomination without delay,” said Senator Van Hollen.

“I strongly support this nomination. Judge Hurson brings remarkable experience to this position, having served as a federal public defender and now as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Baltimore,” said Senator Cardin. “Judicial nominees must meet the highest standards of integrity, competence and temperament. I am confident that Judge Hurson will safeguard the rights of all Marylanders and uphold the Constitution and rule of law. I urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to favorably report Judge Hurson to the full Senate in a timely manner.”

U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE BRENDAN HURSON

U.S. Magistrate Judge Hurson received his undergraduate degree in 2000 from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island where he majored in Public and Community Service Studies with a minor in Black Studies. After college, he served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in California as an advocate for poor and marginalized communities in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. He later taught middle school at St. Thomas More School in Washington, D.C.  In 2005, Judge Hurson graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Maryland School of Law where he was a member of the Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class, competed as a member of the National Trial Team, served as president of the Student Bar Association, and was active in the clinical law program.

After law school, Judge Hurson served as a law clerk to the Honorable Margaret B. Seymour of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. He then worked as an associate at a small law firm in Baltimore where he practiced civil and criminal litigation in state and federal courts. 

In 2007, Judge Hurson joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Baltimore where he defended individuals charged with felony and misdemeanor offenses in Maryland’s federal court.  He was named Senior Litigation Counsel in 2015. In 2017, Judge Hurson joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the United States Virgin Islands where he represented people charged with violating federal and territorial laws on the islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix.  Judge Hurson returned to Maryland in late 2018 to resume his service at the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Baltimore.

On February 7, 2022, Judge Hurson was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge and sits in Baltimore.