Stedman Prescott (August 30, 1896 – November 14, 1968) was an American jurist who served as Chief Judge 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 ...

Biography

Prescott was born in Norbeck,

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

to Alexander F. Prescott and Edith Stanley Kellogg Prescott. He was initially educated at Rockville Academy, and graduated from Rockville High School in 1914. He attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, where he received his

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 ...

degree in 1919. He also served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1917 to 1918, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1924, Prescott was admitted to the Maryland

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and engaged in private practice as a

defense attorney A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...

in Rockville. He served as a member of the Rockville City Council from 1924 to 1930, as state's attorney for Montgomery County from 1930 to 1934, and as a member of the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

from 1935 to 1938. Prescott was confirmed as an associate judge of the 6th District of the Montgomery County Circuit in 1938, and was later confirmed as Chief Judge of the circuit in 1955. He served in that position until 1958, when he was chosen to serve on the

as an associate judge. He was appointed Chief Judge in 1964, and served until August 30, 1966. Prescott married Edith Callender Minnick on July 14, 1917, with whom he had four children: Calla P. Belt, Stedman Prescott, Jr., Mary P. Rosenberger, and Anne P. Brandau.

References

Biography
from the Maryland Archives 1896 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American judges United States Army personnel of World War I Chief Judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals Georgetown University Law Center alumni Maryland lawyers Maryland state senators People from Montgomery County, Maryland United States Army soldiers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers {{Maryland-state-judge-stub