The Hon. Bonnie G. Schneider is the District Administrative Judge for the Maryland Third District Court. She was appointed to the position by Chief Judge John P. Morrissey on October 1, 2015, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Stephen J. Baker.
The Third District Court encompasses Caroline, Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties. Schneider sat on the Criminal Law and Procedure Committee of the Maryland Judicial Conference and the Mental Health, Alcoholism & Addiction Committee of the District Court Chief Judge’s Committee.
Prior to her appointment, Schneider was an associate judge for the Cecil County District Court, a position to which she was named by former Governor Martin O’Malley in 2008. Before that, she was an assistant public defender for the Cecil County Public Defender’s Office (2003 to 2008).
Schneider earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1985. She then completed a J.D. at the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law in 1988.
After graduating from law school, Schneider began her legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. John Carroll Byrnes of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. She served in that capacity until 1989, at which time she became an assistant state’s attorney with the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Her memberships have included the Maryland State Bar Association, the Cecil County Bar Association, the Queen Anne’s County Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Maryland, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association. She has also been involved with the United Way Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, the Cecil Citizens Against Drugs, the Cecil County Narcotics Task Force, and the Maryland Special Olympics.
Schneider was born in Wilmington, Delaware.
She is registered as a Democrat.