C. Ferdinand Sybert (September 16, 1900 – March 29, 1982) was

Attorney General of Maryland The Attorney General of the State of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qual ...

from 1954 to 1961, and a justice of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the state supreme court, highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The cou ...

from 1961 to 1965.

Life and career

Born in

Loretto, Pennsylvania Loretto is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census it had a population of 1,302. Like the rest of Cambria County, it is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropoli ...

, to Pius A. Sybert, a grocer,Robert Highton,
Sybert Doesn't Regard Bench As 'Consolation'
''The Baltimore Evening Sun'' (January 4, 1961), p. 62. and Anna Marie (Haid) Sybert, the family moved to

Elkridge, Maryland Elkridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,593 at the 2010 census. Founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is adjacent to two other counties, An ...

, in 1902. Sybert attended parochial schools in Elkridge and Baltimore, then received an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Loyola College of Baltimore in 1922, followed by an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...

in 1925. While in law school, Sybert worked as a reporter for the ''

Baltimore News-Post The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...

''. He gained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Maryland in 1925. In 1926, he ran unsuccessfully for a position as state's attorney, losing the Democratic primary. He won that office in 1934, and was re-elected in 1938 and 1942. In 1946, Sybert was elected to the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, and due to his support of the candidacy of Governor

William Preston Lane Jr. William Preston Lane Jr. (May 12, 1892 – February 7, 1967) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Maryland from 1947 to 1951. Early life and education Lane was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on May 12, 1892, ...

, was made speaker. He was elected attorney general of the state in 1954, and reelected in 1958. Governor

J. Millard Tawes John Millard Tawes (April 8, 1894June 25, 1979), was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party who was the 54th Governor of Maryland from 1959 to 1967. He remains the only Marylander to be elected to the three positions of Stat ...

appointed Sybert to a newly established seat on the court of appeals, to which Sybert was sworn in on January 13, 1961. After his judicial career, Sybert continued to practice law as a partner in the firm Sybert, Sybert and Nippard from 1965 to 1974. He also participated in the 1967 Constitutional Convention of Maryland as a delegate from Howard County.

Personal life and death

Sybert married Elizabeth J. Johnson, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. His son, C. Ferdinand Sybert Jr., followed in his father's footsteps and became a prominent lawyer in Maryland. Sybert was actively involved in his community, serving on various boards and committees, including the Elkridge Rotary Club and the Howard County Bar Association. He died in

Ellicott City, Maryland Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...

, at the age of 81, and was interred at St. Augustine Cemetery, Elkridge, Howard County.

Legacy

Sybert's contributions to Maryland's legal and political landscape were significant. His tenure as Attorney General and as a judge helped shape the judicial system in the state. He was known for his commitment to justice and his efforts to modernize the court system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sybert, C. Ferdinand Maryland Attorneys General Judges of the Supreme Court of Maryland 1900 births 1982 deaths Loyola University Maryland alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Elkridge, Maryland Maryland Democrats 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers