DONINE CARRINGTON MARTIN, Associate Judge, Charles County Circuit Court 7th Judicial Circuit, since October 6, 2017. She is the first African American woman ever appointed and then elected as a Judge in Charles County, Maryland.  Since being appointed, this trail blazer has received multiple appointments by her colleagues such as:  Circuit Representative, 7th Judicial Circuit, Conference of Circuit Judges, 2019-. Member, Equal Justice Committee, 2020- Chair-Public Meeting-Listening Sessions: “Are the Maryland Rules Implicitly Biased?” 2020-, member, Judicial Council, 2020-. Coordinating Judge, Circuit Court Mediation and ADR Program. Chartering Judge, Charles County Circuit Court Drug Court Program. Judge Carrington martin credits her value of hard work to her time at Syracuse University. She has continued her support of her alma mater through her Judicial career by hiring many judicial interns and law clerks from Syracuse University.

She began her legal career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland and remained there from 1996-99.  She then left public service and became a Criminal Defense and Family law attorney, from 1999-2003 (Maryland and DC). She missed serving the public and returned to Prince George’s County state’s Attorney’s office from 2003-17.  There she was Chief of the Special Victims & Family violence unit from 2015-17. During that her 14 year tenure she was the educational director for the State’s Attorney’s Office, mentor to numerous ASA’s, and Director of the H.S., college, and law school intern program.  She hired many Syracuse University students during her tenure there. During her time at the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s office, she traveled across the state training law enforcement and judges on a variety of topics. Not limited to but including forensic interviewing of children and substantive law.  She was also Special Prosecutor, Office of State’s Attorney, Charles County, 2015-17.  She has been on the adjunct faculty, for Bowie State University since 2003 and is currently an adjunct faculty member for the College of Southern Maryland. 

Born in Brooklyn, New York, she is a proud graduate of NYC Public Schools. She continued her education and graduated in May 1991 from Syracuse University, S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in Broadcast Journalism.  She than matriculated at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, and obtained her J.D., 1995. She was a Judicial law clerk to Judge DeLawrence Beard, Montgomery County Circuit Court, 1995-96. Admitted to Maryland Bar, 1995; District of Columbia Bar, 2001. Associate Attorney, Weinstock, Friedman & Friedman, P.A., 1999-2003. Member, Maryland State Bar Association, 2015- (judicial selection committee, 2016-); Montgomery County Bar Association, 1999-2003; Charles County Bar Association, 2016-; J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association, 1999-2003; Salome A. Howard Bar Association, 2016-; Maryland Hispanic Bar Association, 2016-. President, Women's Bar Association of Maryland, 2017- (member, southern Maryland chapter, 2015-). Judicial liaison, Charles County Bar Association. President, Southern Maryland Women’s Bar Association, 2016-2019. Business owner, Dee's Candles, 2000-04. Adjunct faculty, Bowie State University, 2003-. Board of Directors, Court Advocates for Family and Youth, 2010-14 (volunteer, 2005-). Asst. Recording Secretary, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., 1990- (cotillion coordinator, 2003-04). Charter member of the National Council of Negro Women, Charles Co. Chapter. Youth Kitchen Ministry Coordinator, New Life Church, La Plata, Maryland, 2016-. Maryland's Top 100 Women, Daily Record, 2018. Leadership in Law Award, Daily Record, 2018.