Marvin J. Garbis

Marvin J. Garbis
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office June 14, 2003
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
In office October 25, 1989 – June 14, 2003
Nominated by	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Joseph H. Young.
Succeeded by	Roger W. Titus
Personal details
Born	1936 (age 79–80) Baltimore, Maryland,
Alma mater	Bachelor of Environmental Studies from Johns Hopkins University in 1958, a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1961, and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1962
Occupation	Attorney

Marvin Joseph Garbis (born 1936) is a United States federal judge.

Life and career

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Garbis received a Bachelor of Engineering Science from Johns Hopkins University in 1958, a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1961, and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1962. He was a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice from 1962 to 1967. He was in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland from 1967 to 1988, and in Washington, D.C., from 1988 to 1989.

On August 4, 1989, Garbis was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, which was vacated by Joseph H. Young. Garbis was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 24, 1989, and received his commission on October 25, 1989. He assumed senior status on June 14, 2003.

Notable cases

Garbis is currently hearing arguments about the constitutionality of a Baltimore, Maryland municipal law that requires pro-life pregnancy centers to post signs, fining them $150 per day for not doing so, stating that they do not provide abortion and do not provide chemical or barrier contraception methods of birth control. Attorneys for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore and Baltimore's Archbishop, Edwin F. O'Brien, had filed suit seeking an injunction and ultimately to overturn the law, saying that it violates the First Amendment's freedoms of speech and expression because it forces the Archbishop to require one-sided postings that make the archdiocese's stance seem unfairly unreasonable.

Sources

• Marvin J. Garbis at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.