An advisory committee on judicial campaign conduct has ruled that a challenger for a seat on the Baltimore County Circuit Court and his four incumbent opponents violated the panel's standards of conduct by posting derogatory messages about each other on Facebook and various Internet sites.
The Maryland Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee Inc. found that candidate T. Scott Beckman and a slate of four incumbents known as the Baltimore Sitting Judges Slate — comprising Judges Jan M. Alexander, Sherrie R. Bailey, S. Ann Brobst and John J. Nagle III — violated a standard for "truthfulness and dignity" in campaign communications.
The 16-member voluntary committee received complaints first from Beckman, a lawyer in private practice, then from the judges, in August and September, each accusing the other of posting inflammatory and false material.