Welcome to the

James C. Cawood, Jr.

AMERICAN INN OF COURT

Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, members of the James C. Cawood, Jr. American Inn of Court come together to engage in professional development, ethical inquiry, collegial relations and to have a good time along the way.  As the "home" Inn to the state capital, our Inn has historically sponsored joint meetings with other American Inns of Court in Maryland.

Our Inn's history began in 1987 when the first Annapolis Inn was formed and named for WILLIAM PACA, a Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress and early Chief Justice of Maryland.  In 1990, in response to the significant growth of the Inn, then-Circuit Court Judge James C. Cawood, Jr., founded a second Annapolis Inn named in honor of MARGARET BRENT, the first woman in the North American Colonies to act as an attorney before a Court of the Common Law.  However, by 1993, the two Annapolis Inns agreed that one inclusive Inn was preferable and merged, creating the PACA BRENT INN OF COURT.

Throughout his tenure with the Inn, Judge Cawood remained a positive and motivating force, not only exemplifying the qualities that the American Inns of Court were formed to cultivate, but by bringing a joy and bonhomie to the Inn experience.  The highlight of the Inn year became the meeting featuring lively re-enactments of historical trials, presented in Walter Cronkite's "And You Were There" format, a tradition started by Judge Cawood in 1998.

When Judge Cawood passed away in 2007, the Paca Brent Inn of Court elected to pay tribute to the man who had been such a positive influence for so many years by renaming the Inn in his honor.  Today, we are the James C. Cawood, Jr. American Inn of Court.  And we have proudly carried on the Historic Trial tradition, presented in April each year.  2024 will be our 25th annual Historic Trial presentation.  We think Judge Cawood would be pleased.

PLATINUM LEVEL INN

The James C. Cawood, Jr. American Inn of Court is proud to have achieved Platinum Level every year since the inception of the American Inns of Court's ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE Program, which recognizes an Inn's mastery of effective practices in each of the five core competencies of Inn management Administration, Communiations, Development, Mentoring and Outreach Activities.