The Hon. Clayton A. Aarons is an associate judge for the Prince George’s County District Court in Maryland. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Martin O’Malley on September 15, 2014.
Aarons has held assignments on the Specialty Courts & Dockets Committee, the Equal Justice Committee, and the Court Operations Committee of the Maryland Judicial Council.
Prior to his appointment, Aarons was the owner of the Law Offices of Clayton A. Aarons, a law firm he opened in 2010. He specialized in criminal defense, landlord/tenant, mortgage modification, military, small business, and family law matters.
Aarons earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1980. He then completed a J.D. at Howard University School of Law in 1983.
After graduating from law school, Aarons began his legal career as an attorney advisor for the Federal Labor Relations Authority. He served in that capacity until 1985, at which time he became appellate defense counsel for the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
Then, in 1987, Aarons joined the Prince George’s County Office of the Public Defender. He spent the next thirteen years as an assistant public defender before transferring to the Prince George's County Office of the State's Attorney in 2000. During his tenure there, he held assignments as Assistant Chief of the District Court Division (2005), Chief of the Homicide Division (2006), and Chief of the Circuit Court Division (2007).
He is admitted to practice in Maryland (1985), the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (1985), the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals (1985), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1987), the United States District Court for the District of Maryland (1987), and the United States Supreme Court (1993).
His memberships have included the American Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Prince George’s County Bar Association, and the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Pro Bono Resource Center, the Board of Directors of the Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County, Inc., and the Peer Review Panel of the Attorney Grievance Commission.
Aarons was born in Pensacola, Florida. He attends the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.