"The Robing Room: MD State Judges

Hon. John W. Debelius, III	See Rating Details
Circuit Judge Circuit Court
Montgomery County 6th Circuit	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 7.7 - 8 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 6.0 - 3 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. John W. Debelius, III

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD9262
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Although I had appeared before Judge Debelius while he was an active judge, the majority of my experiences with him has been in multiple ADR situations since he retired.

In that regard, he is simply THE BEST. He is always fair to everyone. He is always fully aware of the facts -- alleged facts -- of both sides -- and always willing to discuss those facts with everyone or with each side individually.

Bottom line: There are some great ADR retired judges; however, there is no one better than Judge Debelius! He will go well beyond the minimum requirements to resolve a case that in a manner that best serves all parties.

I am now retired due to health but I have over 22 years of trial experience. I have never had ADR with Judge Debelius that did not include an education on the law.

Other

Comment #: MD7442
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Another Moco judge who sides with abusers. In 2016, Debelius sentenced a dad to a mere 12 years for killing his 3 year old adopted son from Korea, citing the dad's PTSD as justification for the leniency. Debelius said, "You beat this child to death. It was horrible. For [his] sake, I hope it was quick." The dad did not seek medical treatment for the boy until 5 hours after the abuse occurred. The boy had broken bones, internal bleeding and a skull fracture.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD6606
Rating:1.0

Comments:
He isn't about Justice for everyone he is biased against people who are of African descent. He oppresses people of color and listens to rumors, not facts he is a terrible bias person.

Litigant

Comment #: MD5577
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Judge Debelius appears to be a legal technician and scholar and for that I applaud him. I have had him agree with the prosecutor to dismiss a speed camera appeal against me, thereby dropping the charges. I also saw him force a prosecutor to dismiss a speed
cam appeal against another defendant, thereby dropping the charges because the citation was against the registered owner and the Circuit Court unlike the District Court does not have the power to transfer speed cam citations from the owner to the driver.

The problem with Debelisu is that he is a bureaucrat. Judge DeBelius is the Administrative Judge. A prosecutor wanted to dismiss a case against a defendant appealed from the district court the defendant was not present and Judge Debelius said: "this is a present to win court. In this court you have to be present to win." Judge Debelius then remanded the case back to the district court.

In my third speed camera appeal there wee numerous problems with my scheduling hearing. The clerk only sent notice to me the day before and the postmark on the envelope was two days after the date the notice purported to be mailed. Due to an email to the clerk an associate judge reinstated my appeal after it was dismissed.

I moved that the charges against me be dismissed as a warrant could have been issued for my arrest, my license could have been suspended, and my registration could have been suspended. Because speed camera appeals are the most minor thing a Circuit Court deals with most judges would have dismissed.

Judge Debelius did not. He sided with the bureaucrats in the clerk's office. Judge Debelius if you're reading this, from everything I've seen heard, and read you have a potential to be a great judge and even a great administrative judge who sets the bar high for the other judges. Stop being such a bureaucrat.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD3276
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Superior in every way. He is fair, shows an excellent legal background, follows the law and the rules and treats the lawyers and parties with respect.

He also administers the court efficiently and with understanding of the legitimate needs of the lawyers

Other

Comment #: MD2023
Rating:10.0

Comments:
This judge was very well-spoken about my case and seemed to care enough about what I was going to after I was going to walk out of his courtroom with my time and life. That was very thoughtful of him, and meant a lot to me.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD1421
Rating:8.7

Comments:
He's got the right temperament, learns the law he doesn't know and tries very hard to be fair. I've seen him make some bad rulings but on balance, this guy is a very good judge. I would take him over a lot of the others any day.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD1395
Rating:8.4

Comments:
Judge Debelius' great strength is that he tries to be fair, and his processes are good. Not to say he gets everything right on the law, but at the end of the day you feel like you've had your day in court.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD1302
Rating:8.6

Comments:
An excellent jurist who is equally fair to each side. He should try more cases instead of serving as Administrative Judge, which is a thankless job.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD1100
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Does not have much of a back bone in handling the non-bright judges.

Litigant

Comment #: MD1022
Rating:8.0

Comments:
He's a good guy- look at how many attorneys from his firm are on the bench- speaks volumes as to their credibility.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD330
Rating:5.6

Comments:
Judge Debelius did not appear to understand the appellate rulings on a family law issue. He was aware of the cases, but appeared not to understand the rulings and apply the rulings.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD167
Rating:9.4

Comments:
Judge Debelius presided over a five day civil jury trial. He was extremely courteous, heard objections and frequent bench conferences at lawyers' request, and did not interject much into the trial. I did not win the case, but Judge Debelius was fair and tried to accomplish a settlement pre-trial.