By Andrea F. Siegel , andrea.siegel@baltsun.com|May 24, 2009
With one judge retiring soon and a 12th judgeship to be added in the coming year, Gov. Martin O'Malley will appoint two judges to the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court bench, and already the prospect is looming of appointees facing challengers on the ballot.
Fresh in lawyers' and politicians' minds is the election of 2004, in which two Republican lawyers mounted successful campaigns that ousted two judges appointed by Democratic Gov. Parris N. Glendening. It was the first time in a quarter-century that a sitting judge lost an election in the county.
Observers say that may encourage lawyers who apply but are not selected for a judgeship or who choose to bypass the nominating process and run for the job. As a result, O'Malley appointees may face contested elections to determine if they will stay for a 15-year term. Others say it may depend on whom the governor selects, believe the political climate has changed, or say that it's too early to gauge next year's local political landscape.
FOR THE RECORD
An article in last Sunday's Anne Arundel edition gave an incorrect title for Shaun Adamec. He is a spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley.
The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.
"The governor's only criterion for appointing judges is to appoint the most qualified candidates," said Shaun Adamec, a spokeswoman for the governor.
"Yes, there will be contested judicial elections," predicted Anne Arundel County Clerk of the Court Robert Duckworth, a Republican.
In 2004, Paul G. Goetzke, a former attorney for the city of Annapolis, and Paul F. Harris Jr., long in private practice, unseated two judges in an anti-Glendening backlash. Out of ire at a bench entirely chosen by Glendening, critics portrayed judges as lenient and outsiders. His appointees had previously lost judicial elections in Baltimore and Howard counties.
No attorneys have announced their candidacy for the two seats that will be filled by O'Malley appointees.
County Council member Cathleen M. Vitale, a Republican lawyer who previously applied for a judgeship, said that although the 2010 judgeship has piqued her interest, it is too early for her to seriously think about it.
Judge Michael E. Loney must retire when he turns 70 in July - "I am constitutionally senile," he quipped - but will return part-time.
The General Assembly approved the creation of an additional judgeship during the year that starts July 1.
Whoever fills Loney's vacancy will go before voters next year.
Officials said there is no timeline for adding the new position. Whether that appointee would have to stand for election next year was not immediately clear.
