Judge Margaret M. Schweitzer: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Margaret M. Schweitzer is an associate judge for the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Maryland. She was appointed to the bench by Governor Larry Hogan on January 4, 2018.

She has held assignments on the Court Technology Committee of the Maryland Judicial Council.

Prior to her appointment, Schweitzer was an associate judge for the Montgomery County District Court, a position to which she was named by former Governor Martin O’Malley on February 24, 2014. During her tenure there, she presided over cases involving landlord-tenant disputes, civil actions, criminal actions, traffic citations, domestic violence cases, and peace order petitions.

Schweitzer earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1980. She then completed a J.D. at the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1983.

After graduating from law school, Schweitzer began her legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. John F. McAuliffe of the Montgomery County Circuit Court. She served in that capacity until 1984, at which time she became an assistant state’s attorney with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. During her tenure with the State’s Attorney’s Office, Schweitzer held assignments as Chief of the District Court and Director of Professional Development and Post-Conviction Remedies. She also sat on the Collision Reconstruction Review Team.

Her memberships have included the Montgomery County Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Maryland, and the Montgomery County American Inn of Court.

She is a recipient of the Prosecutor of the Year Award from the Special Investigative Division of the Montgomery County Police Department (2005), the Community Service Award from Drawing the Line on Under 21 Alcohol Use Coalition (2009), and the Outstanding Innovative Law Enforcement Award from the Maryland Impaired Driving Coalition (2011).

Schweitzer was born and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland. Her father taught at Gaithersburg High School and Gaithersburg Junior High School, and her mother was a registered nurse. Schweitzer currently resides in Gaithersburg with her husband, a research analyst. They attend St. Martin’s Catholic Church.