Malcolm Ruff
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 41st district
Assumed office
July 6, 2023
Appointed byWes Moore
Preceded byTony Bridges
Personal details
Born (1984-04-18) April 18, 1984
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSydnee
Children4
Alma materDuke University (BA)
University of Baltimore (JD)
OccupationAttorney
WebsiteCampaign website

Malcolm Peter Ruff[1] (born April 18, 1984) is an American politician and attorney who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 41 since 2023.

Ruff is a member of the Democratic Party as well as an associate with the law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, which is managed by prominent civil rights attorney Billy Murphy Jr. He has been described as a protégé of Murphy.[2]

Early life and education

Ruff was born in Baltimore on April 18, 1984.[3] He grew up in the Park Heights neighborhood of Baltimore,[4] and spent his summers on a small family-owned farm in Harford County, Maryland.[5] Ruff graduated from the Gilman School in 2002, where he was considered a track and football standout.[6] He later attended Duke University, where he played for the Duke Blue Devils football team[3] and earned a bachelor's degree in African and African American studies in 2006.[7] Ruff later attended the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree in 2012.[7] While at the University of Baltimore, he was one of only six students nationwide selected for the NAACP-Kellogg's Law Fellow program.[8]

Ruff has been a member of the Maryland Bar since 2012.[1] He began his legal career as an assistant state's attorney for the state's attorneys for Baltimore and Baltimore County,[7] where he was a prosecutor in personal injury and criminal defense cases.[9] From 2014 to 2018, he worked as a trial attorney for the Saller & Biship law firm.[10] Afterwards, Ruff became a partner at the Murphy, Falcon & Murphy law firm.[11] In this position, he has represented several victims of police brutality and wrongful death matters, including in the cases of Jordan McNair,[12] William Green,[13] Quinton Burns,[14] Taizier Griffin,[15][16] Renardo Green,[17] Zayne Abdullah,[18] and Demonte Ward-Blake.[19]

Outside of his legal career, Ruff is the founder of the Pagya Project, a non-profit to support residents of underserved communities and to address homelessness and street violence in Baltimore.[4]

In February 2023, Ruff participated in and spoke at a Tyre Nichols protest at Festival Park in Aberdeen, Maryland, where he read a list of names of African Americans killed in police encounters and suggested that police agencies "clean house".[5][20]

In the legislature

Malcolm Ruff, with his family, being sworn in by House Speaker Adrienne Jones

In May 2023, following the appointment of state delegate Tony Bridges as the Assistant Secretary for the Maryland Department of Transportation, Ruff applied to fill the vacancy left by his resignation in the Maryland House of Delegates. In June 2023, the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee voted to send Governor Wes Moore the names of both Ruff and former state delegate Angela Gibson for consideration to fill the vacancy.[2] On June 18, 2023, Moore appointed Ruff to fill the vacancy.[21] He was sworn in on July 6, 2023.[10]

House speaker Adrienne Jones assigned Ruff to the Appropriations committee[22] and he is also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the Baltimore City Delegation.

Personal life

Ruff lives in Baltimore. He is married to his wife, Sydnee, and has four children. He is a member of the Heritage United Church of Christ.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 "Malcolm Peter Ruff". Martindale.com. Martindale-Hubbell. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Kurtz, Josh (June 8, 2023). "Baltimore Democrats deadlock, send two names to governor for consideration to fill House vacancy". Maryland Matters. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Malcolm Ruff". goduke.com. Duke Blue Devils. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Iannetta, Jessica (2019). "40 Under 40 2019: Malcolm Ruff, Murphy, Falcon & Murphy". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Morales, Maria (February 22, 2023). "Harford and Cecil residents call for action, change during Tyre Nichols memorial in Aberdeen". The Aegis. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ Graham, Glenn (May 19, 2020). "On track for retirement: Curley's Gene Hoffman, Gilman's Johnnie Foreman leave impressive legacies". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Malcolm Ruff". lawyers.justia.com. Justia. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Meet a Student: Malcolm Ruff" (PDF). University of Baltimore Magazine. Fall 2009. p. 4. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Malcolm P. Ruff". The Daily Record. November 30, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Members - Delegate Malcolm Ruff". Maryland General Assembly. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Malcolm P. Ruff". murphyfalcon.com. Murphy, Falcon & Murphy. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ "2 ex-Maryland players reach settlement to football lawsuit". USA Today. Associated Press. December 17, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  13. ↑ Murphy, Heather (September 28, 2020). "$20 Million Settlement Reached in Officer's Fatal Shooting of William Green". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ del Valle, Lauren (July 27, 2022). "Family sues SeaWorld's Sesame Place Philadelphia for alleged racist interaction". CNN. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  15. ↑ Thompson, Steve (March 11, 2022). "Teen shot with Taser along Ocean City boardwalk acquitted of most-serious charges". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ Prudente, Tim (June 29, 2021). "Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy takes case of Black teens violently arrested on Ocean City boardwalk". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  17. ↑ Parker, Luke (February 13, 2023). "Annapolis seeks to dismiss $75 million wrongful death suit; Renardo Green's family must respond by Wednesday". Capital Gazette. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Jessica (September 14, 2021). "Baltimore police officer convicted of lying about being spat on before struggle that was captured on viral video". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  19. ↑ Hilton, Jasmine; Mettler, Katie (March 31, 2023). "Family of man paralyzed during Md. traffic stop wins $7.5 million". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  20. ↑ Morgan, Jeff (January 27, 2023). "Protests to remain peaceful following release of Nichols' video". WMAR-TV. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  21. ↑ Wood, Pamela (June 18, 2023). "Gov. Moore appoints Malcolm Ruff to House of Delegates". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  22. ↑ Sears, Bryan (July 6, 2023). "House back to full membership after new delegates are sworn in". Maryland Matters. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Malcolm Ruff". insideoutinitiative.org. Inside Out Initiative. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
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