In general, this law firm does not comment on purely partisan politics; while it is pro-worker, pro-labor and pro-union by policy, the firm as such is not a Democratic or Republican firm.
Certain political matters, however, directly affect the practice of law and the pursuit of justice for clients. One such political matter is the election of Circuit Court judges, which occurs pursuant to Maryland’s Constitution and election statutes. Circuit Court judges sit for a 15 year term and are appointed by the Governor subject to a contested election at the next regular election day. After a careful review by the Judicial Nominating Commission of many candidates, Governor O’Malley appointed four judges to the Circuit Court bench in Baltimore County recently, and those four are running for re-election along with one challenger, Scott Beckman, a former colleague of mine at a suburban law firm.
I believe that elections are poor ways to elect judges. Judges are prohibited under judicial ethics canons from engaging in most of the practical forms of “electioneering” that, say, a House or Senate candidate will indulge. In particular, judges are prohibited from issuing a campaign promise as to how they will rule in a particular case – which is a bit of a problem, since ruling is part of the job description. Given the disconnect separating the general public from judicial process – how many voters understand the exclusionary rule, the rule regarding summary judgment or the rules governing peremptory challenges or jury instructions? – I question the competence of the average voter to do a better job of picking a superior judge than of picking a superior civil engineer for designing a highway bridge. A poor choice of either can have analogously disastrous results – no exaggeration when you consider that Circuit Court judges in Baltimore County sit for 15 year terms and may have practical occasion to impose the death penalty.
I support the Sitting Judges’ slate for the reasons outlined in my recent article in the Baltimore Examiner. I hope that all voters in Baltimore County will do the “unsexy” civic thing and actually examine this important courthouse race. It may be a bigger deal than the more high-profile Baltimore City State’s Attorney Democratic primary.
