Administrative Judge

Lenore R. Gelfman has been named administrative judge for the Howard County Circuit Court, succeeding Diane O. Leasure, who announced her retirement, effective Nov. 4, 2011. "Judge Gelfman has a long and impressive record of service," said Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell, who made the appointment. "She is a thoughtful and distinguished jurist, whose leadership skills are exemplary. " Gelfman received her Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore in 1973 and began her legal career as an assistant state's attorney in Baltimore City.

A Baltimore County administrative law judge has approved developer Steve Whalen's proposal for a medical office project in Catonsville, one month after Whalen pleaded guilty to giving illegal campaign contributions to county politicians. Judge John E. Beverungen said the proposed Southwest Physicians Pavilion, planned for Kenwood Avenue near the Beltway, meets the county's zoning laws and complies with its master plan. In January, Whalen pleaded guilty to five counts of violating state election law, admitting he funneled $7,500 to the campaign of County Councilman Tom Quirk - who represents the Catonsville area - by giving money to others to give to Quirk.

Carroll County District Judge JoAnn Ellinghaus-Jones has been named administrative judge for District 10, which includes Howard and Carroll counties. Ellinghaus-Jones succeeds Judge James N. Vaughan, who left the post last week to become chief judge of Maryland's District Court system. Her appointment took effect Thursday. Ellinghaus-Jones was named to the bench in 1991 and was reappointed this year to a second 10-year term. As administrative judge, she will coordinate scheduling and handle personnel and commissioner-related issues, among other duties, in the seven-judge district.

Allen Dyer's term on the Howard County school board is scheduled to expire Dec. 3, but it could end at any moment. The outspoken Ellicott City lawyer, who lost his attempt for re-election in the primary earlier this year, is battling an attempt by his fellow members to legally oust him from the panel. The due date for a decision from the administrative law judge presiding over his case is Dec. 5. The school board requested last year that the state school board remove Dyer, who has been accused of breaching confidentiality requirements and bullying.

Clayton Atwood Dietrich, a retired attorney and former administrative judge who was active in East Baltimore Democratic politics, died of a heart attack June 25 at Brighton Gardens of Pikesville. The Towson resident was 85. Born in Pittsburgh, the son of a Pennsylvania legislator, he was raised in Baltimore and graduated in 1936 from City College. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, hitchhiking daily to classes at College Park from his East Monument Street home.

A state administrative law judge accused of sexually abusing a 17-year-old foster child beginning in 1987 was indicted last week on charges of molesting a second youth in the early 1980s.Marvin Lee Teal, 44, of Ellicott City was indicted by a Howard County grand jury Thursday on seven counts alleging that he sexually abused a teen-age boy between 1980 and 1985, court records say.Mr. Teal is charged with two counts each of child abuse and perverted sexual practices, and one count each of assault, battery and a fourth-degree sexual offense.

The parking agents are back in parking court. Well, at least one of them was, on Wednesday morning at the John R. Hargrove District Court building on Patapsco Avenue in South Baltimore. Just one reputed miscreant, out of more than 70 people in court that day, requested the presence of the person who wrote the ticket. And unlike previous weeks — in which parking agents were daily no-shows in court because they never received their summons, prompting judges to dismiss hundreds of cases — an officer identified only as Agent Farmer showed up to testify.

George Warren "Moose" Mix Sr., a well-known Towson attorney whose legal expertise included administrative, criminal and family law, died May 4 of heart failure at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The 30-year Lutherville resident was 74. "I knew Warren when I was a prosecutor and later as a defense attorney, and he was often in three jurisdictions during a single day. He was a stand-up, honest and hardworking guy when it came to his clients. He'd fight for his people," said Gov. Martin J. O'Malley.

Woman to be tried on murder, forgery charges in one trial A Carroll County woman accused of arranging the fatal shooting of her husband and of forging his signature to make herself the beneficiary of his life insurance policy will face both charges in a single trial, a judge has ruled. Carroll Circuit Judge Luke K. Burns Jr. wrote that the charges against Melissa Lynn Baumgardner Shipley are so connected that the exclusion of evidence in one case would render the other one incomprehensible.

Names in the newsElmore and Associates P.A. of Severna Park, recently announced the addition of Owen J. Curley , as its newest associate. Curley received his Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in May, and a bachelor's degree from Virginia Military Institute. Before joining Elmore and Associates, Curley clerked for Judge Clayton Greene Jr., administrative judge for the 5th Judicial Circuit and Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Curley, a former Navy officer, lives in Annapolis with his wife, Jacqueline.

Michael E. Loney, a retired Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge recalled for his moderate temperament, died of congestive heart failure Oct. 5 at his Arnold home. He was 73. "He was a gentleman and a gentle man," said a friend, Judge Nancy Davis-Loomis, administrative judge of the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. "He loved the law, and he loved helping people in his private life and on the bench. He was always fair and always of moderate temperament. " Judge Davis-Loomis said, "He was the kind of judge you hope you get. " Born in Baltimore and raised on Monastery Avenue in Irvington, he was the son of a homemaker and a hardware salesman.

Oral arguments in the Howard County school board's case against board member Allen Dyer ended Wednesday, with administrative law judge Douglas Koteen setting the close of the case for Sept. 6, the due date for final written arguments. The school board on June 9 of last year requested that the state board of education remove Dyer, accusing him of such transgressions as breaching confidentiality requirements and bullying. The state board referred the matter to the office of administrative hearings, where 10 days of hearings began in May. After the final written arguments, Koteen has up to 90 days to submit a recommended decision to the state board and both parties.

George Warren "Moose" Mix Sr., a well-known Towson attorney whose legal expertise included administrative, criminal and family law, died May 4 of heart failure at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The 30-year Lutherville resident was 74. "I knew Warren when I was a prosecutor and later as a defense attorney, and he was often in three jurisdictions during a single day. He was a stand-up, honest and hardworking guy when it came to his clients. He'd fight for his people," said Gov. Martin J. O'Malley.

Protesters held signs reading "Leopold must go!" "Spying un-American" and "Resign now" outside Anne Arundel County government headquarters Monday, criticizing an embattled county executive who faces allegations that he used his county police detail to investigate political opponents. About a dozen people attended the protest near the Arundel Center to voice their disdain for County Executive John R. Leopold. He was indicted and charged March 2 with four counts of misconduct in office and one count of misappropriating county funds.

Judge Francis Miller Arnold, who had a first career as an employee relations director and later became a lawyer and then a judge of the District Court and the Circuit Court, died Wednesday of esophageal cancer at his Westminster home. He was 83. "Judge Arnold was a wonderful human being and a superb jurist. He was the kind of judge that any judge would want to emulate," said Howard County Circuit Judge Lenore R. Gelfman. "I'm so sad. It's a great personal loss for me. We were like a father and daughter.

A developer's plan for a 36-unit waterfront condominium with boat slips that has pitted neighbor against neighbor for years in Bowleys Quarters has been rejected by a Baltimore County hearing officer. In a 45-page opinion based on days of hearings, John E. Beverungen denied the Galloway Creek condominium proposed by Milton A. Rehbein III, who for decades has owned a marina at the site along Burke Road on the Bowleys Quarters peninsula. While Beverungen agreed with some of the developers' arguments, he rejected the project on grounds that it conflicts with the county master plan and neighborhood community plan, and violates a law that specifies where such projects are allowed in Bowleys Quarters.

A group of disabled workers is moving forward with a class-action lawsuit against the Social Security Administration alleging the federal agency discriminates against employees with disabilities by denying or limiting promotions. An office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Aug. 25 affirmed a 2008 decision by an EEOC administrative judge that certified the case as a class action, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Monday. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and other damages as well as changes in policies and procedures that will improve career opportunities for disabled employees, according attorneys for the plaintiffs.

Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Clayton Greene Jr., appointed last week as the county's new administrative judge, keeps a plastic replica of a hand grenade on a corner of his desk with "Complaint Department" inscribed on its pedestal.A visitor might think the gift from a retired police officer is a not-too-subtle warning to combative lawyers, but it contrasts sharply with Greene's approachable, conciliatory style, according to those who know him."He's a real leader in a quiet, effective way. He doesn't coerce people, he just works really well with getting people to work with him," said Judge Joseph P. Manck, who served with Greene for six years as a District Court judge and now holds Greene's old job as administrative judge of Anne Arundel's District Court.

The Department of Natural Resources will announce today that it has made its own large catch — 60 recreational fishermen involved in a variety of illegal activities on Maryland's waterways in the past five months. As a result, the agency has proposed suspending their licenses for anywhere from 30 days to a year depending on the seriousness of the crime. It marks the first time that the DNR has proposed recreational licenses be suspended since the legislature empowered it to do so more than two years ago. Those who are in jeopardy of losing their licenses have been notified by mail and have 30 days to request an administrative hearing.

Clayton Cann Carter, a retired Queen Anne's County Circuit Court judge who was a Maryland history buff and a collector of Maryland-related objets d'art, died July 30 of an apparent heart attack at Chesterfield, his Centreville home. He was 92. The son of a miller and a storekeeper, Judge Carter was born and raised in Centreville. He was a 1935 graduate of Centreville High School and earned a bachelor's degree in 1939 from Duke University. "There were only 11 grades in those days at Centreville High School and he was 16 when he entered Duke, where he earned his degree at 20," said a daughter, Rachel MacDonough Carter Gross of Chestertown.