Shirley Marie Watts (born March 6, 1959)[1] is an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore, Maryland. Since July 2013, she has served as a Judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. Watts is the first African American woman to serve as a judge on the Court of Appeals.[1] Prior to her appointment, she was a judge on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals from 2011 to 2013 and an associate judge on the Baltimore City Circuit Court from 2002 to 2011.[2]