OSI-Baltimore is thrilled that Mayor Catherine Pugh today appointed Andre Davis, Senior Judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and an OSI-Baltimore Advisory Board member for 17 years, to be City Solicitor.
Judge Davis’s thoughtfulness, superb reputation, and vast experience prepare him well to be an extremely strong advocate for the City. As a judge, as a law professor, and as an OSI board member, he has combined his efforts to uphold the rule of law and principles of due process and equal protection with detailed knowledge of and empathy for the challenges confronting Baltimore residents.
Beyond his service on OSI’s Board, Judge Davis has served on board of the Baltimore Urban Debate League, which OSI-Baltimore incubated and launched, and of the Community Law in Action (CLIA), created by OSI-Baltimore Community Fellow Terry Hickey, who was recently named director of the Mayor’s Office of Human Services. We are confident that City will now benefit significantly from Judge Davis’s wisdom, as OSI-Baltimore and others in Maryland and across the country have for many years.
Read Judge Davis’s official statement on the appointment below:
With a keen appreciation for this mixed blessing, today I announce my retirement from the federal judiciary, effective on August 31, 2017, for the purpose of accepting Mayor Catherine Pugh’s request that I take on the responsibilities of Baltimore City Solicitor. My nearly thirty-year tenure as a judge has been a labor of love. It has been an extraordinary privilege and a high honor to have served the people of our city, state and country in the important work of safeguarding the rule of law. I shall especially miss the collegiality and collaboration that distinguish the work of the most exceptional court in the country: the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Baltimore is at an historic intersection as it seeks to continue to rebuild itself as a thriving, diverse, and welcoming community, one truly on the move to greater heights. Its best days are ahead. The mayor’s invitation to me to join in this profound effort has prompted me to make a decision that I could not have imagined making until the moment I actually made it. In agreeing to join her administration, I take advantage of a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the revitalization of the City I love, and to a community that has nurtured and encouraged me for more than six decades.
Over the next several months, I will diligently complete my remaining work with the Fourth Circuit but I will not take on any new cases. With the critical assistance of the dedicated lawyers and staff of the city Law Department, I look forward to the opportunity to tackle the myriad challenges that await us upon the commencement of my work for the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore starting in September.