Hon. Robert E. Laird, Jr. (Ret.) was a magistrate for the Somerset County Circuit Court in the First Judicial Circuit of Maryland. He joined the bench in 2005. Laird retired in 2021.
During his judicial tenure, he presided over domestic relations and juvenile causes. He also sat as a member of the Juvenile Subcommittee of the Judicial Conference’s Family Law Committee.
Prior to joining the bench, Laird worked for sixteen years as an assistant state’s attorney (1989 to 2005).
He received a B.A. from Salisbury State College in 1985. Laird went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law in 1988.
His memberships have included the Maryland State Bar Association and the Somerset County Bar Association.
Laird served as a lay leader at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church and was a past president of the Somerset Ruritan Club.
He was born in Somerset County, Maryland, and attended Washington High School in Princess Anne.