The state commission that oversees judicial conduct has accused Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court judges Vickie Gipson and Marc Knapp of “improper decorum” on the bench and in their personal, legal battles with each other.

In two sets of charging documents, the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities provided an external review of the probate court, which has become an arena of public turmoil for nearly a year.

Since May, Gipson has initiated several court actions against Knapp, accusing him of threatening behavior, to little effect. Peace orders haven’t been ratified, and criminal charges have been dropped, partly due to a lack of evidence and partly due to mixed rulings in district court limiting her testimony.

According to the charging documents, the working relationship between the judges was “professional and cordial” after Knapp’s election in 2022 — Gipson was first elected in 2018 — but “acrimony” began to stir early the next year.

While the commission said both judges engaged in “repeated verbal altercations,” it described Knapp as “the primary aggressor,” invading his colleagues’ personal space and acting in a “hostile, aggressive, disrespectful, and unprofessional manner” toward Gipson and other staff members who tried to intervene.

The commission also pointed to behavior by Knapp that “could reasonably be described as harassment,” such as his “covertly recording” the conversations and deliberations of other judges in chambers — an action for which he was criminally charged.

Some of Gipson’s charges involved adjustments she made to the Orphans’ Court as its chief justice, such as favoring orders over written opinions or dissents. Knapp described that change as a primary source of his strife with Gipson.

The chief justice was also reprimanded for altering the court’s schedule, a move made to accommodate Orphans’ Court Judge David Duba’s teaching job in Prince George’s County. In an interview, Duba, who resigned in November, argued the shift in schedule didn’t affect the court’s productivity.

“We worked hard to make sure that the court worked and served the public,” he said. “We didn’t want to keep anyone waiting.”

Both Gipson and Knapp were also charged with making public comments to the Capital Gazette criticizing the Maryland Judiciary and to the Baltimore Banner in a column calling for the Orphans’ Court to be dissolved.

As such, both were accused of making “Public Comments on Pending Cases,” “Breach of Confidentiality of Commission Matters,” and “Undermining Public Confidence in the Judiciary.”

Gipson and Knapp declined to comment Thursday.

The commission issued its charges Feb. 24, and Gipson filed a “general denial plea” earlier this month, describing Knapp’s complaints against her as “retaliatory” and accusing investigators of misrepresenting what happened.

“This is not a case of someone acting in contumacious disregard of the rules regarding judicial ethics,” Gipson’s attorney Claudia Barber wrote. “It is a case where the victim of workplace violence and discriminatory animus was unfairly denied assistance and intervention to ensure that the work environment was safe and harassment free.”

A report from the commission’s Investigative Counsel is referenced in both sets of charging documents and Gipson’s response but was not available to review online.

As of Thursday, Knapp has not filed a response to his charges, which were published at least two days after Gipson’s.

According to the commission’s website, once charges have been filed against a judge and served, a formal hearing will be scheduled to adjudicate their conduct.

If, after that hearing, the commission finds that a judge has committed a sanctionable offense, it will refer the case to the Supreme Court of Maryland, which could impose the commission’s recommended sanction or any other. The Supreme Court also has the option to dismiss the charges.

The commission’s proceedings are generally confidential.

A spokesperson for the Maryland Judiciary declined to comment on Gipson and Knapp’s cases.

In an interview Thursday, Barber said a hearing date has not yet been scheduled in Gipson’s matter.

“We’re looking forward to having our charges dismissed,” she said.

The commission’s charges have extended legal scrutiny of Knapp’s conduct.

Knapp returned to the bench briefly late last year but was placed on administrative leave in December after the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor filed a new criminal case against him related to his cellphone recordings.

Peter O’Neill, Knapp’s criminal defense attorney, declined a request for comment.

Knapp is scheduled to appear for one more hearing next month in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court before his May 8 trial in Annapolis.

Contact Luke Parker at llparker@baltsun.com or 410-725-6214.