Honorable Arthur M. Ahalt

Judge Ahalt was born April 27, 1942, and has been a life-long resident of Prince George's County. He received his B.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Maryland in 1964 and his J.D. from the Washington College of Law of the American University in 1967. He was a Law Clerk for Blair H. Smith, Esquire, the Honorable Ralph W. Powers and the Honorable J. Dudley Digges in the Seventh Judicial Circuit.

Governor Harry R. Hughes appointed the Honorable Arthur M. Monty Ahalt to the Circuit Court February 9, 1982. The vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Samuel W. H. Meloy. He was elected to a 15-year term in 1984.

Judge Ahalt has often stated, "The law is the skin which holds all human endeavors together. It is the sum total of man's morality." It is his stated goal to enhance the public understanding of the law by utilizing the legal profession's vast resources of knowledge, energy, persuasion and leadership.

Judge Ahalt maintains an active trial calendar, having tried over 750 jury trials. He has served as Chairman of the Circuit Court Building Committee and was responsible for the planning and construction in 1991 of the Court's 400,000 square foot, $70 million new facility. He is currently Chairman of the Court's Technology and Settlement Conference Committees. In addition, he was appointed supervising judge of the Court's Civil Differentiated Case Management System in 1994.

Judge Ahalt has evaluated the jury value of over 20,000 injuries as a neutral case evaluator for litigants in the Court's settlement practice. He lectures before numerous groups of judges, lawyers, insurance adjusters and court employees on evaluating risk. He has compiled a group of 20 recurring accidents and injuries and a method of evaluating the jury's potential entitled Evaluating Risk.

As Chairman of the Court's Technology Committee, Judge Ahalt has been responsible for organizing the Court's National electronic filing pilot entitled JusticeLINK. This pilot represents the first comprehensive effort nationally to file pleadings electronically and to organize the Court's information electronically so that it is available to the public through electronic communications. In 1994 Judge Ahalt also served as a committee member of Advisory Committee on Computer-Aided Transcription and Court Application, a national committee appointed through the National Center for State Courts and the State Justice Institute.

Judge Ahalt has received the Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Service Award of the Maryland State Bar Association. The Maryland Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc have named him Employer of the Year. Judge Ahalt is also listed in Who's Who in American Law.