Jennifer Etheridge Suspended

Jennifer Etheridge, a Baltimore City District Court judge, was suspended by the Maryland Supreme Court for violating the state's Code of Judicial Conduct following a September 2, 2023 confrontation with Baltimore Police officers in her own neighborhood. According to the Judicial Disabilities Commission's filings, officers were responding to a domestic-violence 911 call nearby when Etheridge — who had "consumed at least two alcoholic beverages" at a gathering with friends — became upset that a municipal truck was blocking her residential street and denying her Uber driver access, and confronted the officers. The Supreme Court suspended her for 20 days, with 15 days stayed contingent on a discipline-by-consent agreement requiring her to complete judicial education courses, meet with a mentor judge for a year, undergo a substance-abuse evaluation, and issue formal letters of apology to the officers and a city employee involved.