Chief Judge

Howard County Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure will take over the administration of both the Fifth Judicial Circuit and Howard's Circuit Court effective today, making her the first woman to hold either post. Leasure became the county's first female Circuit Court judge when she was appointed in 1995 and is best known for presiding over the Linda R. Tripp wiretapping case. She replaces Anne Arundel Judge Clayton Greene Jr. as Fifth Circuit administrator and longtime Howard Judge Raymond J. Kane Jr. as Howard administrator.

BALTIMORE is starting this Christmas season the way it ended the last one -- with an average of one killing a day.After an encouraging 30 percent dip in the spring and summer, homicides are soaring again. It is likely the toll will exceed 300 for the 10th consecutive year, reaffirming Baltimore's rank as one of America's most lethal cities. This at a time when the nationwide homicide rate continues a dramatic decrease.In February, The Sun launched an editorial crusade to stop this bloodletting.

Chief Judge Robert M. Bell told the General Assembly yesterday that more judges are not the cure for the backlog of delayed cases in Baltimore's Circuit Court.Delivering his State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Senate and House of Delegates, Bell warned legislators that the city's public defender and state's attorney's office will need more lawyers to handle an increased criminal caseload.Referring to newspaper accounts of repeated trial delays leading to dismissals of serious criminal cases, Bell said, "Those stories have not furthered our quest to inspire the public's confidence in the judiciary."

Howard County Circuit Judge Raymond J. Kane Jr. has announced he is retiring June 1, leaving a second vacancy on the five-member bench this year. Kane, 66, has served as a Howard Circuit Court judge for 22 years and has been the chief judge of the bench since 2004. "I have mixed emotions," Kane said yesterday. "I enjoy what I'm doing; I've always enjoyed being a judge. I find its challenges rewarding, but I think it's time for me to step down and pursue some other interests." Kane said he wants to spend more time with his three grandchildren and travel.

Maryland Chief District Judge Martha F. Rasin announced yesterday that she would quit the position and return to Anne Arundel County as a trial judge next month, ending a five-year tenure marked by progress in domestic violence cases and high-profile political clashes over staffing and court reform. Rasin, 53, said her job overseeing 35 courthouses, 108 judges and 1,500 employees has isolated her from the work she loves. "I entered the judiciary to be a trial judge on the District Court, and that is a wonderful, wonderful job," Rasin said yesterday.

J. Harold Grady, who spent three years in office as Baltimore's 40th mayor before resigning to become a judge, died of cancer yesterday at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 84 and had lived in Homeland. The former Goodale Road resident, who had lived at the Mercy Ridge retirement community in Timonium since July, spent 22 years on the bench - including four as chief judge of what became the Baltimore Circuit Court - until retiring in 1984. "He felt very comfortable with the law and very uncomfortable as mayor," said former Mayor Thomas J. D'Alesandro III, whose father, Thomas J. D'Alesandro Jr., was defeated by Judge Grady in the 1959 mayoral election.

Retired Maryland Judge Robert F. Sweeney, who oversaw the creation of the state's highly regarded District Court system to replace a corruption-riddled patchwork of local courts, died of leukemia yesterday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center.Judge Sweeney, who was 72, was the first and only chief judge of the District Court system from its creation in 1971 until his mandatory retirement three years ago.A politically adept jurist who succeeded with a combination of charm and determination, he has been credited with leading the modernization of a court system that had been overseen by politically minded, and at times corrupt, judges, magistrates and justices of the peace.

The retirement next month of Chief Judge Robert M. Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals is a critical event, the first transition in the leadership of Maryland's courts in nearly 20 years. A matter of central importance for the new chief judge must be the shocking state of the docket of the state's highest court, a problem that long predates Chief Judge Bell's stewardship. Article IV, Section 15 of the Maryland Constitution requires that "an opinion, in writing, shall be filed within three months after the argument or submission of the cause.

NEXT TUESDAY, Gov. Parris N. Glendening plans to stand on Lawyers Mall outside the State House to help unveil a statue of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.Glendening will praise a Marylander who made civil rights history. He could make a bit of history himself if he chooses Robert M. Bell to be chief judge of the state's Court of Appeals. Bell would be the first black to serve in that post.The moment could hardly be more fitting if Bell is the choice -- or more awkward if he is not. Indeed, if the new chief judge is to be someone else, Glendening may find another occasion to announce his selection.

In addition to holding the position of chief judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals, Robert M. Bell is the representative for the Baltimore City circuit. Applications for the city seat are due May 1, and those who apply will be interviewed by bar groups and a judicial nominating commission. The commission will meet June 24 to produce a list of qualified applicants to be forwarded to Gov. Martin O'Malley. His appointment must be confirmed by the Maryland Senate. O'Malley will also appoint a chief judge of the Court of Appeals.