J. Thomas Nissel (December 29, 1930 – May 7, 2018) was the state's attorney for

Howard County, Maryland Howard County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population is 334,529. Since there are no incorporated municipalities, there is no incorporated coun ...

and a judge in Maryland's district and

circuit courts Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

Family

Nissel was the son of John J. Nissel, a postal supervisor. He and his wife Irene had six children. His son-in-law,

Scott Rolle Scott L. Rolle (born June 30, 1961) is a Circuit Court Judge in Frederick County, Maryland. In a close election in late 2014, he was the first lawyer to defeat a sitting judge in Frederick County by way of election in modern history. From 1995 t ...

, became the state's attorney and a circuit court judge in

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick, Maryland, Frederick. The county is part of the Washington metropolitan area, ...

Career

Nissel graduated Loyola in 1952, and University of Maryland Law in 1955. From 1957 to 1963, Nissel served as a special attorney for the State's attorney office for seven years handling condemnation cases. Nissel was appointed a member of the Howard Park advisory board, which was stood up in a contentious effort to purchase land owned by republican commissioner Charles E. Miller as parkland, rather than a hospital development in competition with the

Rouse Company The Rouse Company was a publicly traded shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company. It was founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939. Beginnings: Moss-Rouse Com ...

's Howard County General Hospital project. In 1966, Nissel was appointed State's Attorney in March 1966 after Cornelius F. Sybert Jr. vacated the post suddenly. He announced he had no intent to run for any political office in the county. Later that year, he ran for State Senate on a slate with former county commissioner and land developer Norman E. Moxley against James A. Clark Jr. After losing the election, he served as council to the County Commissioners drafting low-income housing regulations for Ellicott City until leaving for private practice in December 1967, being replaced by Parks attorney Thomas L. Lloyd. In July 1971, Nissel became the administrative head of the Howard and Carroll County district courts. On March 1, 1980, Governor

Harry Hughes Harry Roe Hughes (November 13, 1926 – March 13, 2019) was an American politician from the Democratic Party who served as the 57th Governor of Maryland from 1979 to 1987. Early life and family Hughes was born in Easton, Maryland, the ...

appointed Nissel to the Circuit Court for Howard County to fill the vacancy created when

James Macgill Sir James MacGill, Lord Rankeillor of Nether Rankeillour (died 1579), was a Scottish courtier and Senator of the College of Justice. Sworn of the Privy Council by Mary, Queen of Scots in 1561, he became her Lord Clerk Register (Keeper of the ...

retired. Nissel retired on January 1, 1991. He heard occasional cases as a retired judge as late as 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissel, J. Thomas 1930 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Maryland state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers Lawyers from Baltimore Loyola University Maryland alumni Maryland Democrats Maryland state court judges State's attorneys in Maryland University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni