Karen Friedman, a judge on the Baltimore City Circuit Court’s 8th Judicial Circuit, has been appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as director of criminal justice innovation, development and engagement at the Department of Justice. She will start in the newly created position, which is housed in the department’s Office of Justice Programs, on Jan. 3, 2022.
Friedman was the first female Orthodox Jewish judge in Maryland. She has served on the circuit court since 2014, and will step down from the bench at the end of this year. Friedman was previously a district court judge in Baltimore, and before that served as a judge on the city’s Orphans’ Court.
The appointee has a long history of activity and involvement in the Jewish community. “Being a woman and being Jewish have been important factors in my life, and in shaping who I am and how I view the world. And that definitely informs my decisions on the bench,” Friedman said. “Jewish people have a strong belief that if you change one life, it’s as though you’ve changed the world. If you grow up with that belief and that belief is part of your value system, then you know that your ability to touch people’s lives on the bench is so important.”