Judge Sherrie Bailey's father, the Rev. B.L. Robinson, moved up from Alabama to Richmond, Va., with "20 dollars in his pocket and a tote bag," she says.

He worked and worked, and though the odds seemed stacked against him in the 1940s and 1950s, became a Baptist minister, a social worker, and earned two master's degrees. He was the first in his family to go to college.

When Bailey was a girl, Robinson and his late wife, Alice Moore Robinson, would discuss with their four daughters the issues of the day around the dinner table.

"We grew up learning by the Socratic method around the dinner table," said Bailey, 49, who was sworn in as Baltimore County's newest Circuit Court judge last month.

"It was nothing at all to discuss Freud, the great philosophers, the latest scientific developments over dinner," she said.

"Education was a huge part of our upbringing. We were taught you work -- and you work hard."

So, in late April, when Gov. Martin O'Malley called Bailey, who at the time was working as a Baltimore County public defender, to offer her a position on the Circuit Court, she called her dad.

"My dad was beyond ecstatic," she said. "This was more than he could have imagined."

Sherrie Bailey filled a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Dana Levitz.

Bailey attended Henry Lackey High School in southern Maryland and graduated from nearby St. Mary's College in 1981 with a degree in human development.

Bailey earned her law degree at the University of Notre Dame, where she became a "big football fan."

Out of law school, Bailey went to work as a law clerk in the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office and stayed there for 22 years, between 1984 and 2006, rising up the ranks under city prosecutors Kurt Schmoke, Stuart Simms and Patricia Jessamy.

Between 1991 and 1996, Bailey was chief of the agency's district court division.

"She was an extraordinary find for us," Simms said.

"She had a great rapport with the district court judges and was a great presence on behalf of the state," he said.

"Those daily court dockets are not easy matters. In the city. they can vary from 30 to 90 cases a day.

"That takes a very responsible staff and Sherrie was very adept at getting us prepared for that."

From there, Bailey spent four years as a public defender in Baltimore County, representing poor clients in felony cases.

In those roles, she saw up-close some of the darkest sides of humanity.

"The hard part is seeing families that are torn apart by the many different social ills that occur in our society," Bailey said.

"The rampant drug use. The violence. The family discord. It's difficult to see the impact on children."

Bailey said she hopes her experiences on both sides of the aisle -- as a prosecutor and defense attorney -- help her render fair decisions when considering cases.

"It's really important that judges are fair and impartial and they bring with them a wide life experience," she said.

Her friend, Assistant Attorney General Dan Friedman, said Bailey has the right personal qualities to be a judge.

"She is just a wonderful, patient, smart, thoughtful, articulate person," Friedman said.

"If you had to draw up the kind of judge you would want to hear your case, she would be the one you would draw," Friedman said.

"She's patient but firm. She's going to be a great judge."

In a news release announcing Bailey's selection, O'Malley's office described her as having "extensive experience in felony trial work, including homicide, rape and narcotics cases."

In her first month, Bailey, who started work on May 26, has been assigned to some family law cases, some criminal cases, and "a little bit of everything."

"The other judges have been extremely cordial and welcoming in helping me make the transition," she said.

She lives in western Baltimore County with her husband, Andrew Bailey, a lawyer with a private practice in Towson, and their four sons, ages 12, 14, 16 and 20.

Bailey's husband said her upbringing taught her how to set a good example.

"Being the oldest of four girls and the one her sisters always looked up to, she is well-suited to be a judge," he said.

Bailey said she holds a special place in her heart for her parents.

"They are the salt of the earth," Bailey said, "the backbone of America."

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