Marc Knapp
Introduction
Marc Knapp was a judge of the Orphans’ Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland, until the Supreme Court of Maryland removed him from office in an opinion filed 17 July 2026 β a removal the Court said was the only disposition sufficient to preserve the integrity, independence and impartiality of the judiciary. The judicial-discipline case against Knapp arose from his interference with his own court’s operations: he secretly recorded confidential judicial deliberations between himself and two colleagues, then deleted the recordings in the presence of police officers who had come to seize his phone, and repeatedly failed to cooperate with the Commission on Judicial Disabilities’ investigation. The Court concluded his conduct β including the attempted destruction of evidence β was “fundamentally incompatible with judicial office.”
Background Information
The Orphans’ Court is Maryland’s estate-probate court; in Anne Arundel County it sits as a panel of judges who deliberate together on wills, estates and related matters. Knapp was elected to the seat by the qualified voters of Anne Arundel County in November 2022 and served alongside Chief Judge Vickie Gipson and Judge Duba. His conduct came to light through police involvement: officers responded to a 911 call to investigate allegations that he was recording people without their consent, and the temporary peace order that preceded it. Investigative Counsel charged Knapp on 24 February 2025 with sanctionable conduct violating multiple judicial-conduct rules, amending the charges on 1 May 2025. The Commission on Judicial Disabilities issued a unanimous decision on 9 March 2025 β as recited in the opinion β finding by clear and convincing evidence that he violated Rules 18-101.1 (Compliance with the Law), 18-101.2 (Promoting Confidence in the Judiciary), 18-102.3 (Bias, Prejudice, and Harassment), 18-102.5 (Competence, Diligence, and Cooperation), 18-102.8(b) (Decorum, Demeanor, and Communications) and 18-102.16 (Cooperation with Disciplinary Authorities), found insufficient evidence on three other rules, and unanimously recommended removal.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Adjudicated vs. alleged. The findings against Knapp were made by the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities on clear and convincing evidence and by the Supreme Court of Maryland in a published opinion β the state’s authoritative judicial-discipline process. They are not criminal convictions; no criminal charges are reported. The removal order is final within the judicial system.
On 4 June 2024 β despite having been ordered not to harass Chief Judge Gipson or misuse telephone facilities β Knapp began using his cell phone to record the court’s confidential judicial deliberations among Gipson, Duba and himself. The two other participants present, Ms. Cheek and Mr. Hetherington, also did not consent, as required by Section 10-402 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article. Despite an admonition from the Attorney General’s Office, he continued recording: on 18 and 20 June 2024, per Judge Duba’s testimony, he said “I’m recording while I’m speaking… and I’ll pause the recording when it’s your turn to talk.” On 20 June 2024, Gipson called 911 to report Knapp violating the temporary peace order by recording conversations without consent; when Anne Arundel County police officers came to the court to seize his phone, Knapp knowingly and intentionally deleted from his cell phone the recordings he had made of his colleagues β in the officers’ presence. The deleted 4 June recording was forensically recovered by Detective Michael Krok, who testified as an expert for the Commission. The Commission found his statements and testimony about the extent of his deletions “not credible” β they varied from admitting to police on 20 June that he had deleted recordings to asserting the recordings contained nothing but “mere seconds” β and concluded the deletions constituted a failure to cooperate with investigative counsel, since he had been repeatedly reminded of his obligation to preserve all records relevant to the investigation. Beyond the recordings, the Commission found he repeatedly failed to maintain patient, dignified and courteous conduct toward judicial colleagues and court staff, engaged in conduct creating a perception of bias against women and persons of color, and repeatedly made disparaging comments about the Judiciary, the Orphans’ Court and a judicial colleague to the public and the media. Charges under three other rules β including judicial statements on pending cases β were not sustained. Separate criminal proceedings against Knapp occurred in parallel; in those, the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County granted his motion to suppress the cell phone, and no criminal conviction of Knapp appears in the discipline record.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The Supreme Court of Maryland heard the case on 4 June 2026 and, in a per curiam order later explained in a published opinion, found Knapp committed one or more of the violations determined by the Commission. The Court wrote that his deleting recordings in front of law enforcement β the act it called “knowingly and willfully attempting to destroy evidence” β was “a sufficient basis to warrant his removal from office,” and that such conduct “erodes the public confidence and trust in the Judiciary.” The unanimous Commission recommendation of removal was adopted: the Court concluded removal was “the most appropriate disposition” given “the egregious nature of the misconduct.” The opinion, published July 2026, puts the entire record β the 911 calls, the peace order, the recovered recordings, the credibility findings β into Maryland’s public case law.
Current Status
Knapp has been removed from judicial office. He contested the charges through the Commission process β including a denied motion to consolidate with Chief Judge Gipson’s separate disciplinary case (JD No. 2, September Term 2025) and a motion in limine seeking to exclude the recording and the officers’ testimony based on the criminal-case suppression ruling β and the Supreme Court addressed both contentions in its opinion. No criminal conviction of Knapp appears in the discipline record. The Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court continues with its remaining judges; the case stands as published precedent on recording judicial deliberations and evidence destruction in Maryland judicial discipline.
Impact on Their Career/Life
An elected judicial seat ended over a cell phone’s voice-memo function. The sequence that removed Knapp β secret recordings, a peace order, 911 calls from his own chief judge, and evidence deletion in front of police β is an extraordinary record for any public official, and the forensic recovery of the deleted audio removed whatever benefit the deletion sought. For Maryland’s judiciary, the case establishes that recording colleagues’ deliberations without consent plus failure to preserve evidence is per se removal territory, not a reprimand case. The opinion also functions as workplace-conduct precedent: the perception-of-bias findings regarding women and persons of color, and the disparaging public commentary about his own court, were part of the pattern the Commission weighed β a reminder that judicial discipline reaches speech and demeanor, not just rulings.
Sources
- Supreme Court of Maryland, “In the Matter of the Honorable Marc Knapp, Judge of the Orphans’ Court for Anne Arundel County,” opinion by Booth, J., filed 17 July 2026 β source