Judge Wendy A. Cartwright: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

Hon. Wendy A. Cartwright is the Chief Judge for the Prince George’s County Orphans’ Court in Maryland. She was named to the position in 2003.

Cartwright first joined the Prince George’s County Orphans’ Court after being appointed to the bench by former Governor Parris Glendening in 2001. During her judicial tenure, she was a member of the Conference of Orphans’ Court Judges, the Judicial College’s Judicial Education Subcommittee for Orphans’ Court Curriculum, and the Judicial Ethics Committee.

In addition to sitting on the bench, Cartwright has been a partner at Cartwright & White since 2007. Before that, she was a partner at Wendy A. Cartwright & Associates, P.C. (1991 to 2007). She also spent many years as a private tutor for the Maryland Bar Essay Exam (1990 to 2009).

Cartwright received a B.A. in political science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1986. She went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law in 1989.

After graduating from law school, Cartwright began her legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. Howard S. Chasanow with the Prince George’s County Circuit Court (1989) and the Maryland Court of Appeals (1990).

Her memberships have included the Maryland State Bar Association, the Prince George’s County Bar Association, and the National Association of Women Judges. She was co-chair of the Building Expansion Committee and a former trustee of First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Lanham, Maryland.

Cartwright was born in Washington, D.C.