The Honorable Audrey Anne Creighton
The Honorable Audrey Anne Creighton was sworn onto The District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County in September of 2010. She was appointed by Governor Martin O’ Malley, as the second Hispanic judge in Montgomery County, and the fourth Hispanic judge in Maryland. Prior to her judicial appointment, Judge Creighton was an Assistant Public Defender in the Montgomery County Maryland Office of The Public Defender. She was one of two Hispanic bilingual attorneys in the office who handled serious felony cases. As such, Judge Creighton has extensive trial experience, including having tried approximately ninety-five jury trials. During her twenty years as an Assistant Public Defender, she had tried virtually every kind of criminal case, including several murder cases.
Before joining the Public Defender’s Office, Judge Creighton had a varied law career. She earned her Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1986. Thereafter, she began a clerkship for the late Honorable Richard P. Gilbert, Chief Judge of The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. Following her clerkship, Judge Creighton was an associate with the law firm of Rabineau & Peregoff in Baltimore City. Subsequently, as an Assistant Attorney General for The State of Maryland, she argued cases before the Courts of Appeal of Maryland.
Judge Creighton served as the eleventh President of the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA) from 2003-2004, and has been a member of the MHBA Board of Directors for over a decade. In 2010, Judge Creighton was honored with the MHBA Leadership Award. Additionally, Judge Creighton currently serves as Treasurer of the Montgomery County, Maryland Bar Foundation, Inc. She is currently a member of the foundation’s Diversity Committee and is actively involved in the Pipeline Scholar Program. Judge Creighton has also held various leadership positions within the Montgomery County Bar Association. She has served as Treasurer, Secretary, and on the Executive Committee. She has chaired the Specialty Bar Associations Committee, and has served as a mentor for the Montgomery County Bar Association mentor/mentee program. Judge Creighton also serves on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Chapter of the State of Maryland Women’s Bar Association and on the State of Maryland Criminal Law Council.
During the school year, Judge Creighton teaches Trial Advocacy at American University’s Washington College of law. She also volunteers as a judge for mock trial and moot court competitions at the law school. Judge Creighton also volunteers as a judge for Montgomery County’s Teen Court and has volunteered as a judge for the Maryland State Bar Association Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition. Prior to her judicial appointment, Judge Creighton served as a member of the Character Committee for The Court of Appeals of Maryland For The Seventh Circuit.
Judge Creighton is of Spanish decent. Her ancestors immigrated to Quito, Ecuador from Arcos, Spain. Her mother later emigrated from Ecuador to the United States. Judge Creighton’s father is of Irish decent and is fluent in Spanish. Judge Creighton grew up speaking both Spanish and English at home, since her maternal grandmother lived with her family and did not speak English. Judge Creighton was raised in Montgomery County, Maryland and graduated from Thomas S. Wootton High School in 1978. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from The University of Maryland in 1982.