Hon. Karla N. Smith, Esq

Hon. Karla N. Smith, Esq. has been serving as an Associate Judge on the Montgomery County Circuit Court, 6th Judicial Circuit, since January 23, 2015. She was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 19, 1969. Judge Smith earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland College Park in 1991, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. She was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1995 and the District of Columbia Bar in 1997. Before her judicial appointment, she served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Montgomery County from 1996 to 1997, in Prince George’s County from 1997 to 2000, and again in Montgomery County from 2000 to 2007 (chief of the family violence division from 2007 to 2012). She also worked as a Coordinator for the Supreme Court Assistance Project at the Public Citizen Litigation Group from 1995 to 1996.

Judge Smith has been actively involved in several legal and community organizations, including serving as a Member of the Public Awareness Committee of the Maryland Judicial Conference from 2013 to 2015, and as the Chair of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council in Montgomery County from 2014 to 2017. She has also been a Member of the Governor’s Family Violence Council from 2009 to 2013, and the Sexual Offender Advisory Board from 2010 to 2012. Her extensive legal experience and dedication to public service make her a respected and influential figure in the Maryland judiciary.