Bill looks to take politics out of judicial elections
by Manju Subramanya
Staff Writer (Gazette.net)
Mar. 7, 2003
GAITHERSBURG -- In the wake of last fall's contentious and expensive judicial race in Montgomery County and an upset in Baltimore County, a move is afoot in Annapolis to change the way Circuit Court judges are elected.
A bill by Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Chevy Chase -- one of at least three similar bills -- would amend the state Constitution to eliminate popular elections of Circuit Court judges.
Judges would face only retention elections after their appointment by the governor, with voters checking off yes or no on the ballot.
As a sop to critics, Frosh's bill also would reduce a Circuit Court judge's term from 15 years to 10.
"I have watched the election of judges for years," said bill co-sponsor Sen. Ida G. Ruben (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring, who is married to retired Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge L. Leonard Ruben. "I am not happy with judges having to raise money. It is demeaning to the robe they wear."
The bill opens up the age-old discussion of how judges should be selected. Should they have to run for elections, soiling their hands in the mudslinging political arena in the interests of democracy? Or should the judiciary be kept independent of politics to maintain its impartiality?
It is a debate raging across the nation.
"There has been interest in a handful of states to change the way judges are elected and retained," said Malia Reddick, research director of the American Judicature Society in Chicago, a national organization of judges and lawyers that supports judges facing only retention elections. "Since 2000, some states have seen expensive and contentious and politicized judicial races, and there has been an effort to try and get some reforms."
Pros and cons
Circuit Court judges are the only judges in Maryland who face contested elections.
Judges from the lower District Court are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate but do not stand for election. Judges of the two state's appeals courts are similarly appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate before they face confirmation elections.
"If you look at the court system, none of our judges are selected by popular vote. Judges at the federal level are not selected by popular vote," said Harry Storm, president of the Montgomery County Bar Association. "It seems to make no sense to make a distinction between the judges of the Circuit Court and others."
The bar association's executive committee voted last month to support elimination of contested elections.
The Maryland State Bar Association also favors abolition of contested elections and has made passage of the bill one of its legislative priorities this year.
"We have traditionally opposed contested elections," said Janet Stidman Eveleth, the bar association's spokeswoman. "Elections are too expensive and throw judges into the fray of politics on the campaign trail."
Volatile election
Montgomery County Chief Judge DeLawrence Beard, who ran on a slate with five other judges and fought off a challenge by a former county prosecutor in November, described the race as "one of the most volatile kind of elections we've had."
Beard was targeted repeatedly for being soft on crime by the challenger, Thomas R. Eldridge. In turn, the judges, through their campaign committee, slammed Eldridge for the plea bargains he made while he was with the State's Attorney's Office.
"I've been through this twice. Fortunately, I survived," said Beard, who ran first in 1986 and again last year for a second term. "It is time-consuming, it is a serious distraction, not to mention expensive."
James F. Shalleck, the Montgomery Village lawyer who lost against the six judges in the September primary, said he is not surprised that legislators were seeking to abolish contested elections.
"Last year's election shook up the establishment and challenged their hold on the judiciary," he said.
While last year's race grew controversial because of Eldridge's campaign, "It was at least a dialogue that got the public involved," Shalleck said.
Few in the electorate know the judges or their challengers, Ida Ruben said.
"As far as the last election, using money to get to the public was more the process," she said, in a jab at Eldridge's campaign.
Eldridge spent nearly $600,000, according to state campaign finance figures. In contrast, the slate of six judges spent a collective $370,000.
Caroline S. Cooper, an American University research professor of justice, law and society who watched the contentious Montgomery court race as a volunteer for the sitting judges, argues that contested races compromise the independence of the judiciary.
"That kind of politicking is not in anyone's interest," Cooper said.
Running into opposition
Frosh's bill has the support of some Montgomery judges, three of whom -- John W. Debelius III, Joseph A. Dugan Jr. and Eric M. Johnson -- testified during a Jan. 29 hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. The judges were among the six up for election last year.
But the bill has run into rough waters with the Legislative Black Caucus. Some Baltimore city and Baltimore County judges -- including Patrick Kavanaugh, a Dundalk lawyer who toppled Baltimore County Judge Alexander Wright in November -- testified against the bill.
"I don't like it," said the caucus chairman, Del. Obie Patterson (D-Dist. 26) of Beltsville. "I think it circumvents the strength of the African-American judges."
Patterson said it is easier for black judges to get elected if the decision is left to the voters.
The caucus's opposition has derailed a bill similar to Frosh's introduced by Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville and Del. Brian R. Moe (D-Dist. 21) of Laurel. That bill received an unfavorable report Feb. 17 from the House Judiciary Committee.
Del. Tony E. Fulton (D-Dist. 40) of Baltimore, the caucus's vice chairman, said last week that blacks historically have had a hard time getting on the bench through appointments.
But proponents of the bill, such as Jerald B. Lurie, president of the Bar Association of Baltimore City, point to appointments of minorities and women to the bench in recent years by former Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D).
"That's just one governor," Fulton said. "If we had a governor who is much more conservative, he could pack the bench with white males and we could do nothing.
"We have to retain this precious opportunity," he said. "We can ill afford to give it up."
Beard, who is black, said he understands where the caucus is coming from but does not agree.
"Thirty years ago, the only black judges were in Baltimore city and Prince George's," he said. "That was pretty much it.
"If they were not appointed, running in an election was the only political lever," he said of black candidates. "A black judge outside Baltimore city will not have the same outlook."
Frush said the caucus's opposition to her bill surprised her.
"It's an age-old thing that for years they didn't get a fair shake," she said. But the situation has improved. "Sometimes old habits die hard."
If Frosh's bill passes, the measure -- because it is a constitutional change -- would need to be put on next year's ballot.
Staff Writer Joseph C. Anselmo contributed to this report.