Van Hollen, Cardin Praise Biden Nominees Matthew Maddox and Brendan Hurson for Maryland U.S. District Court Seats

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) praised President Joe Biden for acting on their recommendation to nominate U.S. Magistrate Judges Matthew Maddox and Brendan Hurson to fill vacancies on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. 

“Diverse experience in the courtroom and a lifelong commitment to public service make Judge Maddox and Judge Hurson excellent nominees for the District Court,” said the Senators. “We were pleased to make these recommendations to President Biden and are confident that if they are confirmed by the Senate, Judge Maddox, a former federal prosecutor, and Judge Hurson, a former federal public defender, will meet and exceed the highest standards of integrity, competence and judicial temperament. Marylanders can be confident about their access to fair, just and equal treatment under the law from these judges.”

Judges Maddox and Hurson, both of whom live in Baltimore, have been nominated to fill two current vacancies on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Judge Paul Grimm, who was appointed by President Obama in 2012, retired from the bench in December 2022. Judge George Hazel, who was appointed by President Obama in 2014, retired from the bench in February 2023.

U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE MATTHEW MADDOX

Born and raised in Maryland, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maddox graduatedsumma cum laude from Morgan State University in Baltimore in 1999, where he majored in philosophy and religious studies, and minored in psychology. After receiving his B.A. degree, Judge Maddox was a Fulbright Scholar and taught high school through the Teach for America program.  Judge Maddox received his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School in 2011. 

Upon graduation from law school, Judge Maddox served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gerald Bruce Lee, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia. From October 2012 to August 2014, Judge Maddox worked as a litigation associate at the law firm of Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C. From August 2014 to August 2015, Judge Maddox served as a law clerk to the Honorable André M. Davis, a judge serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 

In September 2015, Judge Maddox was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland. In this capacity, Judge Maddox prosecuted a range of criminal cases and conducted trainings for law enforcement on the topics of human trafficking and identity theft. In November 2020, Judge Maddox was selected to serve as Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Section in the Northern Division of the United States Attorney’s Office.

On February 22, 2022, Judge Maddox was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge, and sits in Baltimore.

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.