Donna McCabe Schaeffer

Judge Schaeffer was surprisingly casual, choosing to undercut a previous child support ruling. In doing so, she not only ordered garnishment of wages, she overruled 50% orthodontic treatment payment reimbursement, refused to apply either unpaid 33% medical or 50% activity fee reimbursement which have resulted in a 3-month child support credit, opined about her own parenting challenges (which were incongruous with the case before her), and the trial concluded with Judge Schaeffer using calculator and still miscalculating the determined child support balance due. Not a great experience.

Mean and condescending. She is smart but she’s not courteous at all. She needs god or something-not an ounce of just kindness. She lives for dressing down lawyers. Especially if you aren’t part of firms [Redacted by Ed.] Plays favorites and even if you have been a lawyer for decades-if you aren’t a member of “her club” -she literally-not figuratively-literally looks down her nose at you.

Judge Schaeffer shows a lack of seriousness. It's one thing to ignore a pervious ruling. It's another to burden one parent with the expenses of raising children, rather than sharing the financial responsibility. To then miscalculate child support figures simply because one can, while using a calculator, and ignoring requests to assist is roundly failing to treat litigants with respect.

This is the most horribly, awful judge I have ever met. She is all for the defendants and she accuses plaintiffs for things defendants testify without any evidence. Plaintiffs can submit evidence and she does not bother looking at it and rule they are irrelevant. You can tell this judge was appointed to the bench for who she knows. If you want a fair trial, make sure she is not the judge. If not, you will get screwed over. She has no respect for the plaintiffs and is a racist. What a disgrace for Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

Something does not mesh here. This judge mandated certain criteria to a Defendant in a child custody case to be resumed 3 months later. Upon returning to court 6 (SIX) months later with the defendant not being compliant to her mandates, these were her words..”well, let’s not go backwards”. Why bother with mandates if you don’t care to enforce them? This is exactly how criminals are made, making the judicial system the ONLY winner because it means more time and money from the innocent which keeps the courthouse and those employed there running. Kids were involved in this case making it even the more nauseating to endure. How does someone with such disregard for the innocent keep getting promoted? There’s so much more that could be said here. We need to be very careful who we vote as judges, you never know when you will need one that has not lost their passion for the job!

Terrible judge. If this is what a MD judge acts like in the state capital, I can't imagine how much worse it can be out in the hinterlands of the state. Take the robe away from this dangerous decision-maker.