Catherine C. Blake

Catherine Curtis Blake (July 27, 1950 – March 4, 2026) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Early life and education Blake was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 27, 1950. After receiving an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Radcliffe College in 1972, she enrolled in Harvard Law School, where she received a Juris Doctor in 1975.

Career Blake was in private practice in Boston, from 1975 to 1977. She was with the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 1977 to 1987. During that period, she was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1977 to 1983, then became a first assistant from 1983 to 1985, when she was appointed by the court to serve as the United States Attorney, a position she held until 1987, when she again became the first assistant.

Federal judicial service In 1987, Blake became a United States magistrate judge of the District of Maryland. In 1995, Blake became a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 4, 1995, to a seat vacated by John R. Hargrove Sr. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1995, and received her commission on August 14, 1995. She served as Chief Judge of the District of Maryland from October 3, 2014 to October 6, 2017. She assumed senior status on April 2, 2021.

Judge Blake presided over the infamous Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force case. She is portrayed in the final episode of the HBO miniseries "We Own This City" which depicts the events surrounding the case.

In October 2020, Judge Blake struck down a constitutional challenge to Governor Hogan's executive order that mandated state contractors were not allowed to engage in a political or economic boycott of Israel in their business or personal life. The case was one of several constitutional challenges to anti-BDS laws since 2017.

Death Blake died in Towson, Maryland, on March 4, 2026, after a lengthy illness. She was 75.