"The Robing Room: MD State Judges

Hon. Marielsa A. Bernard	See Rating Details
Associate Circuit Judge Circuit Court
Montgomery County 6th Circuit	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 7.3 - 13 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 7.0 - 4 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.

General Rating Criteria

* Temperament		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Scholarship		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Industriousness		(1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
* Ability to Handle Complex Litigation		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Punctuality		(1=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* General Ability as a Trial Judge		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flexibility In Scheduling		(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)

Criminal Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation		(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
General Inclination Regarding Bail		(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Plea Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)

Civil Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation		(1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Involvement in Settlement Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
General Inclination		(1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)

Comments

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What others have said about Hon. Marielsa A. Bernard

Comments

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD6776
Rating:2.3

Comments:
Racist!!!!
She needs to be taken off the bench!
She is racist against minorities, you wouldn’t think she was Hispanic.
She’s terrible this is completely unfair and biased to every defendant who is not white!

Other

Comment #: MD6726
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Solid listener. Requires the story to add up. Gets into the details. Extremely patient.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD5549
Rating:9.3

Comments:
Judge Bernard is a very caring and thoughtful person. She will listen to everyone, and is respectful of attorneys and clients.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD4438
Rating:9.9

Comments:
she is a wonderful judge- smart, capable and caring

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD3843
Rating:2.6

Comments:
Made bench by default when other female/latina was blocked by a Selections committe member.

It could have been worse.

Maybe.

Very vindictive and shallow; Still a petulent child.

Other

Comment #: MD3789
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Without question, the best Judge I have ever appeared before. Judge Bernard truly listens and has no agenda. No ego issues, truly committed to her profession.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD3513
Rating:9.9

Comments:
Judge Bernard is truly a role model for all judges. One of the best judges I have ever appeared before.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD2959
Rating:9.7

Comments:
Judge Bernard is a terrific judge-she is thoughtful in her rulings, knows the law, treats everyone with respect.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD2665
Rating:9.4

Comments:
She is an excellent and fair judge.

Litigant

Comment #: MD2546
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Exactly, She is one of the best Judge in Maryland.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD2448
Rating:9.5

Comments:
She is one of the best judges in Maryland

Other

Comment #: MD2419
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I have agreed with comments # MD2329, #MD478, #MD111 completely. Judge Bernard is one of the best Judge of Montgomery County Maryland. Especially, Comment #MD2329 stated: ".... She is also a very pleasant person to be around, and shows respect to all people in her courtroom".

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD2329
Rating:9.5

Comments:
Judge Bernard is one of the more respectful, professional, and fair judges sitting on the bench in Maryland today. I appeared before her for adjudication on a number of pre-trial matters. At the hearing she was well-prepared, thoughtful, and flexible with her timing when the hearing lasted longer than planned. Even though every ruling did not go my way, she was decidedly fair and unbiased in her decision-making. She is also a very pleasant person to be around, and shows respect to all people in her courtroom, criminal defendants included.

Litigant

Comment #: MD840
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Awful, awful, awful. She does not belong on the bench. She pays not attention to the evidence and just rules in whatever way she wishes according to her own personal biases. I feel sorry for whoever has to appear before her. You will most likely not get a fair ruling. It is really ashame they let judges like this remain on the bench. I would give her a zero if that was possible.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD825
Rating:3.7

Comments:
Several complex motions had long been scheduled to be heard by Judge Bernard. Copies were delivered to chambers in the days before the hearing. She was not at all prepared for the hearing. From her questions, it was clear she had not even read some of the motions. Finally, she admitted she had not reviewed some of the motions. That should never happen. I was extremely disappointed by Judge Bernard.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD478
Rating:9.3

Comments:
I have been practicing law in Montgomery County for 28 years. Over that time, I have witnessed what I perceived as a general decline in the quality of members of the bench in the Circuit Court, both in terms of intellectual capacity and industriousness/commitment to go that extra mile to do the best job possible. Perhaps that is just merely anecdotal and I do not intend to paint with a broad brush, so to speak.
In any event, I find Judge Bernard to be a welcome breath of fresh air reversing that trend.
She takes the time to read and understand the file materials BEFORE she comes on the bench. She conducts indepedent research on her own when necessary. She is even-handed in her approach. She is always polite to counsel, but is not hesitant to express her concern or displeasure with counsel's antics when appropriate. She goes out of her way to accomodate schedules. She handles pre-trial motions with a depth of understanding that is somewhat rare nowadays. Her written opinions are detailed and well-reasoned, when other members of the bench might simply have issued an Order with no explanation.
All in all, what the role of a Circuit Court Judge, especially in complex litigation, should be.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD111
Rating:7.2

Comments:
A pleasure to appear before. She stayed until 5:30 in the evening and asked us to compare calendars before resuming the hearing when she could not finish. Very fair to everyone, listens carefully and makes sure her decisions are clear and concise.