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Watts, Shirley M.

Maryland Law Review 
Volume 82 Issue 1 Article 6 
A Tribute to the Honorable Joseph M. Getty 
Shirley M. Watts 
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Recommended Citation 
Shirley M. Watts, A Tribute to the Honorable Joseph M. Getty, 82 Md. L. Rev. 163 (2022) 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/mlr/vol82/iss1/6 
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163 
A TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE JOSEPH M. GETTY 
SHIRLEY M. WATTS*
 
Upon becoming the twenty-fifth Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of 
Maryland on September 11, 2021, the Honorable Joseph M. Getty made 
history.1 He became the first Chief Judge of the Court to have served in the 
Judiciary, the Maryland House of Delegates, the Maryland Senate, and the 
Office of the Governor.2 In other words, he became the first Chief Judge to 
 
© 2022 Shirley M. Watts. 
 * Judge, Court of Appeals of Maryland. 
 1. See Chief Judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals, MD. STATE ARCHIVES (Apr. 25, 2022), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/html/cjctap.html [hereinafter List of Chief 
Judges]; Former Chief Judge Joseph M. Getty, MD. STATE ARCHIVES (Apr. 18, 2022), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/29ap/former/html/msa12229.html [hereinafter 
Biography]. 
 2. See List of Chief Judges, supra note 1; Biography, supra note 1. Only two of Chief Judge 
Getty’s predecessors came close to achieving this distinction. First, before becoming Chief Judge, 
the Honorable Jeremiah Townley Chase was a Maryland Senate elector and a member of the House 
of Delegates and the Governor’s Council. See Jeremiah Townley Chase (1748–1828), MD. STATE 
ARCHIVES (Oct. 24, 2008), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000200/000234/html/234bio.html. 
Second, before becoming Chief Judge, the Honorable Stedman Prescott was a member of the 
Maryland Senate and the Alcoholic Beverage Survey Commission. See Stedman Prescott (1896–
1968), MD. STATE ARCHIVES (July 6, 2001, 1:15 PM), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001600/001636/html/1636bio.htm
l. Contemporary periodicals referred to the commission as “the Governor’s Alcoholic Beverage 
Survey Commission.”  Local Option Hearing Set for Baltimore Friday, EVENING STAR, Jan. 13, 
1943, at 2-X, https://www.gastearsivi.com/en/gazete/evening_star/1943-01-13/3; see also Dry 
Laws Threaten Clubs 10, BILLBOARD (Mar. 6, 1943), 
https://books.google.com/books?id=QQwEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_s
ummary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Although the commission was evidently formed by and 
reported to the Governor and was part of the executive branch, it does not appear that the 
commission was part of the Office of the Governor. This is consistent with current organizational 
structures, in which executive commissions are part of the executive branch but not part of the 
Office of the Governor. See Executive Branch Chart, MD. STATE ARCHIVES (June 7, 2022), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/08conoff/pdf/08exec.pdf; Office of Governor 
Organizational Chart, MD. STATE ARCHIVES (Aug. 19, 2022), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/08conoff/pdf/08gov.pdf. 
  Other than Chief Judges Chase, Prescott, and Getty, only three Chief Judges served as both 
legislators in the General Assembly and members of the executive branch of the government of 
Maryland. First, before becoming Chief Judge, the Honorable Beale Dorsey was a member of the 
Maryland House of Delegates and the Attorney General of Maryland. See Thomas Beale Dorsey 
(1780–1855), MD. STATE ARCHIVES (Apr. 3, 2012, 3:56 PM), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001400/001498/html/1498bio.htm
l. Second, before becoming Chief Judge, the Honorable John Carroll LeGrand was a member of the 
    
164 MARYLAND LAW REVIEW [VOL. 82:163 
have served at the highest levels of all three branches of the government in 
Maryland—judicial, legislative, and executive. Chief Judge Getty also 
became only the second Chief Judge—and the first in well over a century—
to have served as a member of both the Maryland Senate and the Maryland 
House of Delegates.3 
As Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr.—the President of the Maryland Senate 
during Chief Judge Getty’s tenure as a Maryland Senator—said when Chief 
Judge Getty was sworn in as a member of the Court of Appeals, Chief Judge 
Getty brought “to the court an extraordinary depth of experience and 
knowledge.”4  And, as Chief Judge Getty similarly observed after he was 
designated to serve in his present capacity, it was “very interesting . . . to 
have been on both sides, in the legislature, creating statutes, and in the 
judiciary, interpreting statutes” that he “brought a realistic perspective to the 
court in some of its interpretation of statutes.”5 
Because Chief Judge Getty’s record of public service is so extensive, I 
will discuss only a few of the numerous highlights of his accomplishments 
so that this tribute does not become unduly long. A lifelong Marylander, 
Chief Judge Getty earned a B.A. from Washington College and an M.A. from 
George Washington University before working in various positions related 
to historical preservation.6 In 1996, he graduated from the University of 
Maryland School of Law and was admitted to the Bar of Maryland the same 
year.7 In a testament to his work ethic, initiative, and dedication to serving 
 
Maryland House of Delegates and the Secretary of State of Maryland. See John Carroll LeGrand 
(1814–1861), MD. STATE ARCHIVES (June 25, 2002, 8:30 PM), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001600/001623/html/1623bio.htm
l. And third, before becoming Chief Judge, the Honorable Ogle Marbury was a member of the 
Maryland House of Delegates, an Assistant Attorney General of Maryland, and the acting Attorney 
General of Maryland. See Ogle Marbury (1882–1973), MD. STATE ARCHIVES (Jan. 12, 2001, 9:03 
PM), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001500/001516/html/1516bio.htm
l. 
 3. See List of Chief Judges, supra note 1; Biography, supra note 1. The first such Chief Judge 
was the Honorable Richard Johns Bowie, who served in that capacity from 1861 to 1867. See 
Richard Johns Bowie (1807–1881), MD. STATE ARCHIVES (Mar. 24, 2022, 3:49 PM), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001600/001624/html/1624bio.htm
l. 
 4. Kevin Dayhoff, Getty Sworn-in to Md. Court of Appeals, CARROLL CNTY. TIMES (June 27, 
2016, 9:49 PM), https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll/news/ph-cc-getty-swearing-in-
20160627-story.html; see also Biography, supra note 1; Senate President Emeritus: Thomas V. 
Mike Miller, Jr. (1942–2021), MD. STATE ARCHIVES (Mar. 14, 2022), 
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/05sen/former/html/msa01619.html. 
 5. See Justin Fenton, Gov. Hogan Appoints Joseph Getty to Become Short-Term Chief Judge 
of Maryland’s Highest Court, BALT. SUN (Sept. 3, 2021, 1:49 PM), 
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-cr-20210903-lfbrrlbfrbcuzl6jfnayj6ts2e-
story.html. 
 6. See Biography, supra note 1. 
 7. See id.  
    
2022] TRIBUTE TO CHIEF JUDGE JOSEPH M. GETTY 165 
the public, in 1995, Chief Judge Getty became a member of the Maryland 
House of Delegates representing Carroll County—not to mention a member 
of the Commerce and Government Matters Committee, the State Government 
and Civil Rights Subcommittee, and the Task Force to Review the State’s 
Election Law—the year before he graduated law school and was admitted to 
the bar.8 In addition, during his nearly eight-year tenure as a Delegate, Chief 
Judge Getty served as the Deputy Minority Whip and a member of the 
Judiciary Committee, the Family and Juvenile Law Subcommittee, the 
Article 27 (Crimes and Punishments) Revision Committee, the Commission 
to Revise the Election Code, the Forensic Sciences Task Force, and the 
Committee on Access to Court Records.9 After serving as Delegate, from 
2003 to 2007, Chief Judge Getty served in the Office of the Governor—first 
as Director of Policy, then as Policy and Legislative Director.10 
It was not long before Chief Judge Getty became a legislator again by 
being elected to the Maryland Senate in 2010, representing Baltimore and 
Carroll Counties.11 During four years as a Maryland Senator, from 2011 to 
2015, Chief Judge Getty once again demonstrated his industriousness by 
becoming a member of a wide variety of committees and task forces.12 
During this time, Chief Judge Getty served as a member of the Senate 
Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting, the Judicial Proceedings 
Committee, the Joint Committee on Transparency and Open Government, 
the Task Force to Study Court Decision regarding Pit Bulls, the Work Group 
to Review Disclosure Requirements of the Public Ethics Law, the Budget and 
Taxation Committee, the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, the Senate 
Special Committee on Ethics Reform, the Spending Affordability 
Committee, the Legislative Policy Committee, the Joint Audit Committee, 
the Executive Nominations Committee, the Task Force to Study the Laws 
and Policies relating to Representation of Indigent Criminal Defendants by 
the Office of the Public Defender, the Commission on Child Custody 
Decision Making, the Task Force to Study Implementing a Civil Right to 
Counsel in Maryland, and the Task Force to Ensure Retirement Security for 
All Marylanders.13 In addition, Chief Judge Getty served as the Minority 
Whip and the Senate Chair of the Carroll County Delegation.14 
In 2015, Chief Judge Getty stepped down from his position as a 
Maryland Senator to return to the Office of the Governor, this time as the 
 
 8. See id.  
 9. See id. 
 10. See id. 
 11. See id. 
 12. See id. 
 13. See id. 
 14. See id. 
    
166 MARYLAND LAW REVIEW [VOL. 82:163 
Chief Legislative Officer.15 He served in that capacity until June 2016, upon 
being appointed an Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals.16 Chief Judge 
Getty served as an Associate Judge with the Court of Appeals for more than 
five years before being appointed Chief Judge.17 
It is fitting that Chief Judge Getty’s appointment as Chief Judge made 
history because he is a historian. Before earning his J.D., Chief Judge Getty 
served as the Acting Director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the 
National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Executive Director of the 
Historical Society of Carroll County, a member of the Board of Governors of 
the Union Mills Homestead Foundation, the Chair of the Carroll County 
Committee for Maryland’s 350th Anniversary, a member of the Board of 
Directors of Preservation Maryland, a member of the Rural Historic Village 
Protection Program Advisory Committee of the Maryland Environmental 
Trust, and a member—and later the Chair of—the Carroll County Historic 
District Commission.18 Chief Judge Getty also worked as a researcher and 
writer on the topics of architectural history and historic preservation, 
authoring three books: Uniontown, Maryland-Walking Tour; Carroll’s 
Heritage: Essays on the Architecture of a Piedmont Maryland County; and 
The Engine of Liberty & Uniontown Advertiser.19 
Anyone who knows Chief Judge Getty knows of his fabled interest in 
history, particularly the history of Maryland. Chief Judge Getty demonstrated 
his legendary interest in and knowledge of history during his tenure on the 
Court of Appeals. As a member of the Court, he has been a regular source of 
interesting facts about a wide variety of topics, including the history of the 
Court, the Maryland Constitution, and historical artifacts inside the Robert 
C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building. His passion for history is contagious, 
and his colleagues, their staffs, and court personnel would pass along the 
tidbits that he shared. 
Chief Judge Getty’s interest in history is reflected in the opinions that 
he writes for the Court. For instance, in Ademiluyi v. Egbuonu,20 Chief Judge 
Getty provided an impressive history of the laws governing judicial 
appointments and elections in Maryland.21 This case involved a candidate for 
judge of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, who encountered a 
lawsuit by voters challenging her qualifications to run for the judgeship.22 
 
 15. See id. 
 16. See id. 
 17. See id. 
 18. See id. 
 19. See id. 
 20. 466 Md. 80, 215 A.3d 329 (2019).  
 21. See id. at 94–110, 215 A.3d at 337–47. 
 22. See id. at 91–92, 215 A.3d at 335–36. 
    
2022] TRIBUTE TO CHIEF JUDGE JOSEPH M. GETTY 167 
The circuit court issued a preliminary injunction ordering that the candidate’s 
name be removed from the ballot.23 
An appeal ensued, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, ruling in favor of 
the voters.24 Writing for the Court, Chief Judge Getty delved into the history 
of the laws governing judicial appointments and elections in Maryland, 
discussing the constitutional provisions that applied in the late 1700s and 
culminating with the statutes currently in the Election Law Article of the 
Code of Maryland.25 Ultimately, Chief Judge Getty concluded that the 
candidate’s nomination for office was invalid because it did not comply with 
section 5-701(3) of the Election Law Article.26 So thorough was Chief Judge 
Getty’s opinion in the case that it has been included the New Trial Judge 
Orientation, a program in which all newly-appointed trial judges must 
participate.27 
On top of making history and being a historian, Chief Judge Getty is a 
devoted family man and a colleague who has always acquitted himself well. 
Chief Judge Getty would often delight members of the Court with photos of 
his wife and children and recollections of family trips.  He is also generous, 
as shown by his practice of gifting fresh-picked red apples to his colleagues 
during the Court’s lunches. Ever the student of history, Chief Judge Getty 
would always tell us about the origin of the apples or the orchard where the 
apples came from. 
Another memory I have of Chief Judge Getty is of a somewhat 
humorous nature. One day, during the time that the Court conducted oral 
arguments remotely due to the pandemic, when the members of the Court 
convened via Zoom, we saw a familiar item near Chief Judge Getty, perched 
on a table behind his right shoulder—the eagle figurine that has long been a 
fixture in the Court’s conference room at the Courts of Appeal Building. 
Apparently, Chief Judge Getty had taken the eagle home with him. It became 
an open joke among his colleagues that Chief Judge Getty had “borrowed” 
the eagle. Of course, Chief Judge Getty later returned the eagle to its rightful 
place in the conference room. 
A similar event occurred during the remote Bar admission ceremonies 
in December 2021. During each ceremony held via Zoom, Chief Judge Getty 
held up an inkwell and explained to the bar applicants that it dated back to 
the early days of the Court. Unlike with the eagle, Chief Judge Getty never 
took an inkwell home with him though—at least, as far as I know. 
 
 23. See id. at 92–93, 215 A.3d at 336. 
 24. See id. at 92–93, 215 A.3d at 336–37. 
 25. See id. at 94–110, 215 A.3d at 337–47. 
 26. See id. at 121, 215 A.3d at 353 (citing MD. CODE ANN., ELEC. LAW § 5-701 (West 2019)). 
 27. See Judicial Education, MD. JUDICIARY (2022), https://mdcourts.gov/judicialeducation 
(describing the requirements and goals of the program). 
    
168 MARYLAND LAW REVIEW [VOL. 82:163 
The eagle and the inkwell were not the only historical artifacts that Chief 
Judge Getty was interested in. After becoming aware that a centuries-old 
gavel made of wood from a mulberry tree at Historic St. Mary’s City existed 
somewhere in the courthouse, Chief Judge Getty searched for it until he 
finally found it in a display case in the atrium outside of the Court of Appeals 
courtroom. Chief Judge Getty next searched for the long-missing key to the 
display case until he found it on a ring of old keys in his chambers. He sent 
us a photo of himself standing next to his long-time Judicial Assistant (and 
right hand), Amanda Boyd Miller, who was holding the gavel—both were 
smiling and clearly immensely pleased with the lucky find. Along with the 
photo, Chief Judge Getty told us that: “The silver plaque on the mallet of the 
gavel says ‘Made from the Mulberry Tree associated with the landing of the 
Pilgrims at St. Mary’s, Md. March 27th A.D. 1634. Presented to the Court of 
Appeals by St. Mary’s Parish, March 27th 1884.’”  
Although I did not meet Chief Judge Getty until he joined the Court, I 
had heard of him before then, as his reputation as a public servant and a 
person deeply committed to Maryland preceded him. Once we became 
colleagues, I immediately noticed how well-prepared and knowledgeable he 
was about the cases pending before the Court. It is well known that, when the 
Court conferences concerning a case or other matter, the judges speak in 
descending order of seniority—i.e., the most junior judge speaks first.28  
Thus, Chief Judge Getty spoke first during the nearly-three-year period when 
he was the most junior judge.29 Both during and after that time period, Chief 
Judge Getty’s summaries were always informative and well-thought-out. It 
became clear to all that he is a well-centered person who knows his own mind 
and is dedicated to serving the citizens of Maryland.  
Thank you for your service, Chief Judge Getty, and best wishes to you 
and your family upon your retirement. 
 
 
 28. See PAUL MARK SANDLER, ANDREW D. LEVY & STEVEN M. KLEPPER, APPELLATE 
PRACTICE FOR THE MARYLAND LAWYER: STATE AND FEDERAL 4–59 (5th ed. 2018). 
 29. Then-Judge Getty was the most junior member of the Court until Judge Booth’s 
appointment in April of 2019. See Biography, supra note 1; Brynja McDivitt Booth, MD. STATE 
ARCHIVES (Mar. 11, 2022), https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/29ap/html/msa18104.html. 


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