Member of Senate, January 10, 2007 to January 1, 2020. Chair, Judicial Proceedings Committee, 2015-19 (member, 2011-19). Member, Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, 2007 (environment subcommittee, 2007; ethics & election law subcommittee, 2007; special committee on renewables & clean energy, 2007); Budget and Taxation Committee, 2007-10 (public safety, transportation & environment subcommittee, 2008-10); Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, 2007-10; Joint Subcommittee on Program Open Space and Agricultural Land Preservation, 2007-10; Special Committee on Substance Abuse, 2007-13; Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, 2009-15; Joint Information Technology and Biotechnology Committee, 2013-14; Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Biotechnology, 2014-15; Public Safety and Policing Work Group, 2015-16; Legislative Policy Committee, 2015-19; Executive Nominations Committee, 2016-19.
Member of House of Delegates, representing District 11, Baltimore County, January 13, 1999 to January 10, 2007. Member, Judiciary Committee, 1999-2007 (gaming law & enforcement subcommittee, 1999-2001; criminal justice subcommittee, 2000-03; juvenile services work group, 2005-07; chair, juvenile law subcommittee, 2003-07). Chair, Education Subcommittee of Baltimore County Delegation, 2005-07. Member, Maryland Green Caucus, 1999-2007; Maryland Veterans Caucus, 2006-07.
Member, Task Force to Study the Licensing and Monitoring of Community-Based Homes for Children, 2000-01; Task Force to Study Alternative Living Arrangements for Children in Out-of-Home Placement, 2003-04; Task Force to Study the Mentoring and Monitoring of Children in the Custody of or under the Supervision of the Department of Juvenile Services, 2003-04; Drug Treatment Court Commission, 2003-06.
Born in Davis, California, April 24, 1971. Attended Baltimore County public schools; Pikesville High School, Pikesville, Maryland; London School of Economics, American University of Brussels, 1992; The Johns Hopkins University, B.A. (political science), with honors, 1993; Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1998. Admitted to Maryland Bar, 2000. Attorney, Law Office of Bobby A. Zirkin, 2008-15; Zirkin and Schmerling Law, 2015-. Member, Maryland State Bar Association (criminal law & practice section; family & juvenile law section; litigation law section; solo & small firm practice section; young lawyers section); Baltimore County Bar Association; Maryland Association for Justice. Recipient, Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship, 1993-94, to create European equivalent of National Collegiate Athletic Association. President, Young Democrats of Maryland, 1994-95. Speaker, Democratic Party National Convention, 1996. President's Advisory Council, Stevenson University, 2009-. Legislator of the Year, American College of Emergency Medical Physicians, 2005. Legislator of the Year, Maryland State Medical Society, 2005. Legislator of the Year, Maryland State Surgical Association, 2006. Certificate of Appreciation, Maryland Municipal League, 2008. Award of Special Recognition, Maryland Legal Services Corporation, 2009, 2017. Legislative Achievement Award, Maryland State Bar Association, 2009. Legislative Award, Maryland State Medical Society, 2017. Legislative All Star Award, Maryland Retailers Association, 2017. Married; two children.
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