JUDGING THE CONTESTED ELECTION SYSTEM

On January 13, the MSBA Young Lawyers Section sponsored a panel discussion at Westminster Hall to examine the existing system of contested elections of circuit court judges. I joined two distinguished colleagues and friends on the panel, the Honorable Alexander Wright, Jr. and Christopher R. West.

Among the lawyers and judges present were MSBA President James P. Nolan, Judge Robert N. Dugan and Judge Patrick Cavanaugh. Speaking as an attorney who has had the privilege of serving on the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for Baltimore County, I described some of the benefits and burdens of that process which first originated in 1970 under Governor Marvin Mandel.

Chris West, a past executive director of the Maryland Republican Party, spoke on the statistical history of judicial elections in Maryland. Chris urged caution with Senate Bill 6, a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Maryland that was introduced on January 8, 2003. Among other changes, Senate Bill 6 provides that upon the occurrence of a circuit court vacancy, the Governor shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a qualified individual who would be subject to a confirmation election by the voters at the next general election following the expiration of one year from the date of the vacancy. In other words, the proposed amendment eliminates contested elections and reduces from 15 to 10 years a judge’s term of office.

Judge Wright eloquently shared his experience of running four campaigns for the Circuit Court. Alex cited examples he encountered of a system that does little to adequately educate the voters about the importance of the election of Circuit Court judges. Putting aside the human toll of rendering death penalty decisions by day and campaign speeches each night, Alex stressed the need to at least give the present system an MRI to expose its deficiencies and to then work to remedy them.

I reported on the YLS program at the Executive Council’s regular monthly meeting on the morning after this important discussion. The Council decided to sponsor an open forum on Senate Bill 6 and the current system. Our program will have a statewide focus instead of being limited to prior Baltimore County campaigns. We are making arrangements to have the program televised for the benefit of the public and we have invited the MSBA to join us in this endeavor. In this way, we promote our Association’s mission “to increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of our profession and our legal system.”