![[photo, Peter J. Messitte, U.S. District Court Judge (Maryland)]](/msa/mdmanual/39fed/02usd/images/1198-1-08065b.jpg)
PETER J. MESSITTE, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, since September 1, 2008 (Judge, October 20, 1993 to September 1, 2008). Member, International Judicial Relations Committee, Judicial Conference of the United States, 1997-2003 (chair, working group for latin america & the caribbean, 2000-03).
Associate Judge, Montgomery County Circuit Court, 6th Judicial Circuit, 1985-93. Board of Directors, Maryland Judicial Institute, 1989-93. Chair, Family and Domestic Relations Law Committee, Maryland Judicial Conference, 1991-93.
Born in Washington, DC, July 17, 1941. Attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda, Maryland; Amherst College, B.A. (history), cum laude, 1963; University of Chicago School of Law, J.D., 1966 (1st prize, Karl Llewelyn Moot Court Competition, 1965). Served in U.S. Peace Corps, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1966-68. Admitted to District of Columbia Bar, 1969; Maryland Bar, 1969. Attorney with Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger, Washington, DC, 1969-71; private practice, Chevy Chase, 1971-85. Member, Inter-American Bar Association; American Bar Association; District of Columbia Bar Association; Maryland State Bar Association (business law section); Montgomery County Bar Association. Member, American Law Institute. Founder, Montgomery County Inn of Court (past president). Vice-President and General Counsel, Community Psychiatric Clinic, 1975-85. Panel member, American Arbitration Association, 1975-85. Delegate, Democratic Party National Convention, 1980 (chair, uncommitted delegate caucus). Founder, Montgomery County Adoption Roundtable, 1992. Founder, Montgomery County Divorce Roundtable, 1992. Program evaluator, Judicial Reform Project for Bangladesh, World Bank, Washington, DC, 1999-2000. Coordinator, Venezuela Public Defender Project, World Bank/USAID, 1999-2002. U.S. delegate, First Judicial Summit of the Americas, Quito, Ecuador, September 2001. Head of Mission, U.S. and Turkey Judicial/Prosecutorial Exchange, U.S. State Department, 2001-. Advisory Board, Portuguese-American Comparative Law Center, Roger Williams University School of Law, 2000-02. External Advisory Board, Center for International & Comparative Law, University of Baltimore School of Law, 2000-. Adjunct Professor (comparative law) and Director, Brazil - U.S. Legal and Judicial Studies Program, Washington College of Law, American University, 2012-. Distinguished Alumnus Award, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, 1984. Elizabeth Scull Award for outstanding community service to Montgomery County, 1993. Century of Service Award, Montgomery County Bar Association, 1999. H. Vernon Eney Endowment Fund Award (contributions to the administration of justice), Maryland Bar Foundation, 2001. Gran Cruz da Ordem de Sao Jose Operario for Judicial Merit in the Field of Labor, Tribunal Regional do Trabalho, Mato Grosso, Brazil, 2001. Maryland Leadership in Law Award, Daily Record, 2002. Medalha de Merito Academico (academic contributions to the Brazilian judiciary), Academia Paulista de Magistrados, 2002, 2009. Citation for Community Service, U.S. House of Representatives, 2004. Honorary Professor, Facultad de Jurisprudencia, Universidad de Guayaquil, Ecuador, 2004. Jon Mills Award for Significant Contributions to Relations between Florida and the Americas, University of Florida Levin College of Law, 2009. Medal of Commendation, Sao Paulo Academy of Magistrates, 2009. Ordem do Cruzeiro do Sul (highest award to a foreign national) for collaboration with Brazilian Judiciary, from President of Brazil, 2016. Ordem do Merito Judiciario do Trabalho (Order of Merit of Labor Judiciary) from Superior Tribunal of Labor of Brazil for distinguished service to Brazilian society and Brazilian Labor Justice, 2021.
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