Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court judge charged with violating peace order, tampering with evidence

Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court Judge Marc Knapp was charged Thursday with altering evidence and violating a peace order, complicating an ongoing legal scuffle between two of the three elected judges.

Following a lengthy hearing last month, a district court judge determined Knapp had harassed the court’s chief justice Vickie Gipson in their Annapolis chambers and issued a temporary peace order against him. Until a final hearing could take place, both were barred from speaking to one another without a third-party present and only in their official capacities.

However, according to charging documents filed by Anne Arundel County Police, Knapp violated the terms of the order by recording conversations with Gipson and Orphans’ Court Judge David Duba after being asked repeatedly to stop. When police spoke with him, Knapp said he had several recordings but deleted them because “they weren’t necessary.”

It was unclear in charging documents whether Gipson knew she was being recorded by Knapp. When reached by phone, she declined to comment.

It is illegal in Maryland to record someone without their consent.

In addition to a stalking accusation made against him in mid-May by Gipson, Knapp has now been charged with failing to comply with a peace order, harassing both Gipson and Knapp, and tampering with evidence.

A final hearing that could extend the peace order against Knapp by up to six months is scheduled to take place Monday.

Defense attorney Peter O’Neill declined to comment on the new charges Friday.

Gipson, Knapp and Duba were elected to the bench and preside over the county’s probate court, which administers the estates of people who have died.

In her first district court appearance last month, Gipson said the orphan’s court has become an increasingly hostile place to work since Knapp’s election in 2022. She told Anne Arundel District Judge Richard Duden III that her colleague’s behavior had become “so aggressive that everything he does is concerning.”

She described being cursed and yelled at, and on one occasion, during an argument, Knapp reportedly walked over and leaned on Gipson’s desk after being told multiple times to stop. He asked her if she felt threatened by him and when Gipson said yes, Knapp looked over to a security guard and said, “If I hit her, you can shoot me.”

Knapp argued that he posed no real threat to the other judges, who he said outmatched him physically. When testifying, Duba said he does not fear for his safety around Knapp but feels there is a “non-zero chance” the older judge would hit someone if a confrontation escalated.

Knapp said what usually causes his feuds with Gipson was her “over handedness” in direction, though the three judges have equal authority. Gipson was appointed chief justice last year by Gov. Wes Moore, giving her additional administrative responsibilities.

He said he regularly feels left out of decisions — which only require two of the three judges’ signatures for approval — and does not have a voice on the bench since it began issuing orders over written opinions.

The tension between the judges has altered some of the procedures at the probate court. As the problems escalated, a security guard was assigned to the judges’ chambers, quickly becoming another source of conflict, as Knapp saw the guard as “Gipson’s personal bodyguard.” He then began working directly from the courtroom which, when he refused to leave, led Gipson to call the police.

This week, county police were called to the Anne Arundel County Register of Wills Office in Annapolis, where the probate court is located, after it was reported a peace order had been violated.

When officers arrived, Gipson told them Knapp had recorded multiple conversations between them since the June 3 hearing. When she and Duba asked him to stop, Knapp said he was only recording himself and that if they were recorded in the process, it was their fault.

Duba told police that this happens multiple times a day, causing the judges to stop talking about cases until Knapp has finished recording.

In an email, Knapp told The Capital he was only recording himself and that he advised his colleagues “not to talk unless they wanted to be recorded.” The probate court judges share chambers.

When police spoke with Knapp, the judge confirmed he had had recordings on his phone since June 3, according to charging documents. After the officers told him his phone would be seized as evidence, Knapp requested to speak with their sergeant and by the time the sergeant arrived, only the recordings from Thursday remained, police said.

When asked why, Knapp said, “Oh, I deleted those just now they weren’t necessary [sic].” Officers then took the judge’s phone “to further prevent him from tampering and deleting evidence,” court records show.

No court dates have been scheduled in Knapp’s newest criminal case. A trial in the stalking case is scheduled for July 19.