Diana Jane Gribbon Motz

Diana Jane Gribbon Motz (born July 15, 1943) is a senior United States circuit judge on the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, she served as an active‑service judge until assuming senior status in September 2022 and continues to hear cases. Motz was the first woman from Maryland to sit on the Fourth Circuit and has been noted for her contributions to civil rights, employment law, and criminal jurisprudence during a career that spans private practice, state service, and the federal judiciary.

Early life and legal career

Diana Gribbon was born in Washington, D.C., into a family with deep ties to the legal profession. Her father, Daniel M. Gribbon, practiced as an attorney after clerking for the renowned Judge Learned Hand, providing an early exposure to the law that would shape her professional path. She pursued undergraduate studies at Vassar College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965. Continuing toward a legal career, she enrolled at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor in 1968. At the time, women were markedly under‑represented in law schools; Motz was one of only two female students in her graduating class.

Following admission to the bar, Motz entered private practice with the Baltimore firm Piper & Marbury (now DLA Piper), where she worked from 1968 until 1971. She then transitioned to public service as an assistant state attorney general for Maryland beginning in 1972. In that capacity she remained for fourteen years, handling a variety of civil and criminal matters on behalf of the state. Among her notable achievements was securing a judgment exceeding $268 000 against former Vice President Spiro Agnew, recovering funds he had accepted as bribes while serving as Governor of Maryland.

In 1986 Motz returned briefly to private practice before re‑entering the public sector in 1991 when she was appointed an associate judge on the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, the state’s intermediate appellate court. She served there for three years, gaining experience in appellate review and opinion writing that would later inform her federal judicial work.

Motz is married to J. Frederick Motz, who was appointed a United States district judge by President Ronald Reagan in 1985. The couple became the first married pair to each hold a federal judgeship, a distinction noted in biographical accounts of both jurists.

Federal appellate service

President William J. Clinton nominated Motz to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on January 27, 1994, filling a newly created seat authorized by statute. The Senate confirmed her nomination on June 15, 1994, and she received her commission the following day. Her appointment marked a historic milestone as the first woman from Maryland to serve on that circuit.

During her tenure as an active‑service judge, Motz participated in hundreds of panels addressing issues ranging from constitutional criminal procedure to complex civil litigation. She earned a reputation for thorough legal analysis and for contributing thoughtfully to majority opinions as well as concurring and dissenting writings.

Motz announced her intention to assume senior status contingent upon the confirmation of a successor, a transition that took effect on September 30, 2022. Under senior status she continues to sit on panels and issue rulings, thereby maintaining an active role in the Fourth Circuit’s docket while allowing for reduced caseloads relative to full‑time judges.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Judge Motz’s judicial output reflects a focus on both procedural fairness and substantive rights. In August 2018 she authored a special concurrence when her panel concluded that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment did not bar Virginia from criminalizing possession of alcohol by individuals identified as “habitual drunkards.” In her concurrence, Motz argued that the majority’s reasoning overlooked precedent set in *Powell v. Texas* (1968), which emphasized the importance of protecting vulnerable populations from punitive measures rooted in addiction.

The panel’s decision was subsequently reviewed en banc, and in July 2019 the full Fourth Circuit reversed the earlier ruling by a narrow vote of eight to seven. Judge Motz authored the majority opinion for the en banc reversal, thereby shaping the circuit’s approach to the intersection of criminal law and constitutional protections concerning individuals with alcohol dependence.

Another significant contribution came on December 3, 2021, when Motz wrote for a unanimous three‑judge panel interpreting the Equal Pay Act. The opinion clarified that the statute requires pay equality in each component of compensation—not merely an overall equivalence across total remuneration. By emphasizing that employers may not offset lower hourly wages with increased hours to achieve parity, the decision reinforced a more granular standard for evaluating wage discrimination claims.

Beyond these high‑profile cases, Motz’s body of work includes numerous opinions addressing civil rights, environmental regulation, and federal jurisdiction. Her analytical style often emphasizes statutory text, legislative intent, and precedent, reflecting her grounding in both state and federal legal traditions.

Motz’s legacy is also marked by her role as a trailblazer for women within the federal judiciary, particularly on the Fourth Circuit where she broke gender barriers for Maryland lawyers. Her career trajectory—from private practice to state attorney general, from state appellate judge to senior federal circuit judge—illustrates a sustained commitment to public service across multiple levels of government.

In sum, Diana Jane Gribbon Motz’s decades‑long judicial service has left an imprint on the Fourth Circuit’s jurisprudence through carefully reasoned opinions that address complex constitutional and statutory questions. Her continued participation as a senior judge ensures that her influence endures within the federal appellate system, while her pioneering status serves as a reference point for future generations of jurists.