Washington, DC –
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today joined Judge Andre M. Davis for his official investiture to Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Davis was confirmed by the Senate for this position in November. Senator Cardin presided over his confirmation hearing in the Judiciary Committee in April 2009.

“This day has been a decade in the making and I am proud to join Judge Davis for this important ceremony.  He will be an asset to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and a source of pride to all Marylanders.  For 22 years, Judge Davis has served as an exceptional jurist with a clear appreciation for the Constitution and a demonstrated commitment to protect civil rights and civil liberties. Born and raised in Baltimore, he has been praised by lawyers in Maryland as a smart, evenhanded, fair, and open-minded judge.”

The seat Judge Davis will occupy on the Fourth Circuit has been vacant since the passing of Judge Francis D. Murnaghan in 2000.

Judge Davis was born and raised in Baltimore. He received his
juris doctorate with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law. Upon graduation, Judge Davis clerked for Judge Frank A. Kaufman on the U.S. District Court in Baltimore and Judge Murnaghan on the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Judge Davis has had a distinguished legal career as prosecutor and an academic. In 1995, President Clinton nominated Davis to serve as a U.S. District Court Judge and the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Davis to the bench. In 2000, President Clinton nominated Judge Davis to replace Judge Murnaghan on Fourth Circuit, but the Senate did not move the nomination. Under President Bush, he was not renominated.