Practice Focus & Experience

Booth Ripke has 20 years of experience as a criminal defense litigator. He has successfully defended a full range of cases - from major federal felonies to state court misdemeanors. His advocacy was critical in winning the release of Walter Lomax (who had been wrongly imprisoned for 39 years), and Andrew Stewart (who was innocent and had been incarcerated for 36 years), and winning an Actual Innocence Petition for George Seward, and obtaining a new trial in a first-degree murder case for Brian Tate.Mr. Ripke's practice is primarily focused on white collar and post-conviction criminal matters. He also focuses on appellate litigation in Maryland state and federal courts, the District of Columbia, and the Fourth Circuit, as well as the defense of professional licenses. Mr. Ripke has represented numerous attorneys before either the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission, Bar Counsel of the District of Columbia, and in Rule 11 proceedings in federal court. He regularly defends issues like the unauthorized practice of law, questions involving alleged breaches of financial obligations, attorneys who have received formal complaints from judges, and attorneys facing possible professional repercussions arising from criminal convictions.

Activities, Publications, & Speeches

Mr. Ripke is a graduate of the Maryland State Bar Association's Leadership Academy program. He has taught Legal Research and Writing at the University of Maryland School of Law. In 2003, Mr. Ripke was voted the Adjunct Professor of the Year at the University of Maryland School of Law, where he had lectured on pre-trial litigation and appellate practice. Mr. Ripke was elected in 2007 to become a Fellow of the Maryland Bar, an honor reserved for only 1% of the members of the state bar. Mr. Ripke served as the 2012-2013 Chairperson of the Correctional Reform Section Council for the Maryland State Bar Association. He recently led a panel discussion at the Mid-Atlantic National Lawyers' Guild Conference.

Bar Admissions

Mr. Ripke is admitted to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court for Maryland, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Education

Mr. Ripke is an honors graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law (1998), and graduated Order of the Coif with a fellowship in the study of mental health law. He received a Masters of Education degree (1992) from the Pennsylvania State University in Counseling and a Bachelor of Science degree (1991) from the University of Florida, with high honors.

Awards

Mr. Ripke was chosen for inclusion in the Maryland Super Lawyers for 2016-2018, 2020 in the area of Criminal Law. He was selected for inclusion on the 2009 Super Lawyers Maryland Rising Stars list, featuring outstanding young lawyers in the state.

Mr. Ripke was also selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers of America (2018-2021) for White Collar Criminal Defense.

Lectures, Presentations and Appellate Oral Arguments

Lecture, Internal workings of the Attorney Grievance Commission, Presentation for Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney’s Association, September 21, 2017.
Innocence Conference: From Bloodsworth to today. Wrongful convictions in Maryland, Panel Presentation at University of Baltimore School of Law, September 29, 2016.
National Lawyers Guild – Maryland Chapter. Panel Presentation at Annual Conference, Unger Workshop, April 18, 2015

Mr. Ripke served as principal counsel in arguing the following appeals

United States v. Chikvashvili, 859 F.3d 285 (4th Cir. 2017)
United States v. Glover, et al., 872 F.3d 625 (D.C. Cir. 2017)
Gupta v. State, 452 Md. 103 (2017)
Seward v. State, 446 Md. 171 (2016)
State v. Gupta, 227 Md. App. 718 (2016)
Attorney Grievance Commission v. Berry, 437 Md. 152 (2014)
State v. Seward, 220 Md. App. 1 (2014)
Crawford v. Katz, 32 D.3d 418 (D.C. 2011)
Barnes v. State, 195 Md. App. 1 (2010)
United States v. Akins, 335 Fed. Apx. 335 (4th Cir. 2009)
Dorsey v. State, 185 Md. App. 82 (2009)
United States v. Olivares, 292 F.3d 196 (4th Cir, 2002)

Professional Associations

Chair, Correctional Reform Section Council, Maryland State Bar Association
Member, Federal Bar Association
Member, Maryland State Bar Association
Member, Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney's Association
Amicus Committee of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney's Association
Legislative Committee of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney's Association

Personal

When he finds time to relax, Mr. Ripke enjoys spending time with his family, hosting weekend camping trips, and following the year-long obsession that is Florida Gator football.