Judge

We're at the finale already (didn't this season seem short?). I'll say it right here at the top of the episode - unless William falls repeatedly on his keister, requiring the judges to give him 5's across the board, there's no way he's not winning this thing. That being said, I'd be OK with any of the three finalists winning, even though I'm personally Team Driver. Tonight's show will have each couple dancing two dances:  1. Judge's pick, which are new routines danced to new music, but in a style the couple has previously danced and in which the judges would like to see them improve.  2. Freestyle Tomorrow night, the couples will be doing some sort of third scored dance, details about which we'll learn later.

A Baltimore County Circuit Court judge has dismissed a $5 million lawsuit filed against the former president of Baltimore International College by the board of the defunct culinary school. The suit, a counterclaim, alleged that Roger Chylinski, who founded the college and served as its president from 1980 to 2010, misused more than $200,000 for personal meals, antiques and unapproved salary. But Judge John Phillip Miller issued a dismissal May 7 without a hearing or written explanation.

Haven't paid your city property taxes? Then you're on the city's list of owners whose properties could end up in tax sale this May, along with nearly 27,000 others who (as of last week) were behind on taxes, water bills or other city tabs. That's more than 10 percent of city properties, located in neighborhoods as varied as Poppleton and the Inner Harbor . If previous years are any judge, many owners will pay up quickly and avoid tax sale altogether. Here's an interactive map that shows where all the properties are. You can click on the dots for more details, including the address, who owns and how much the city says they owe. (Keep in mind that some may have paid already -- and at least one is an error .)

A Circuit Court judge has ruled against a contractor who claimed Baltimore County owed the company $1.4 million in a dispute over construction of the County Detention Center. Judge Judith C. Ensor rejected the appeal from George Moehrle Masonry Inc., a company based in Frederick, and affirmed the decision of a county hearing officer, who had awarded the company $72,603. According to a statement from the county, Moehrle had a $3 million contract for work to be performed in 2004 and 2005.

Four trucks laden with 100 slot machines arrived early Wednesday morning at the nearly completed casino at Arundel Mills mall. For the next two hours, workers wheeled banks of the gleaming new machines, one by one, inside on hand trucks. Installation of the first set of slots moved Maryland Live! Casino, the state's largest, another step closer to its scheduled opening in three months. That's progress for Maryland's lackluster gambling program, which has yet to be fully implemented more than three years after voters approved five slots locations statewide.

The search for America's next greatest talent continues in New York.  First up is The Flyte Cru, who I guess you could call basketball stunts-men. They use trampolines to do all sorts of somersaults as they shoot hoops. Their act is pretty entertaining, but I feel like I've seen it before, so I'm not very impressed. Judge Howie Mandel thinks the same thing and gives them a “no.” New judge Howard Stern has been surprisingly kind this season; he continues that streak and says he wants to see Flyte Cru move on to next round.

"There is nobody above the law," according to Judge J. Frederick Motz, chief federal district judge in Maryland. We agree. U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Kenkel doesn't seem to, PTC though. Nor, apparently, do some senior officers of the Maryland State Police.How else to explain the failure to punish, one way or another, Judge Kenkel's unacceptable conduct while driving last January? Letting him get away with failure to stop for a police officer and using a siren while fleeing into a limited-access garage is privileged treatment, pure and simple.

A bankruptcy judge this morning approved the sale of Rosecroft Raceway for later this month. The approval means that potential buyers can try to outbid Baltimore Orioles owner and lawyer Peter G. Angelos, who is the "stalking horse," or lead bidder, in the auction set for Jan. 28. Angelos agreed to buy the Prince George's County harness track for $9 million in cash, plus $5 million if a referendum to expand gambling is approved and slots are...

Surrounded by dozens of judges, fellow lawyers, relatives and admirers in a packed courtroom in Towson, John J. Nagle III was sworn in Tuesday as a Baltimore County Circuit judge. "Above all, I will be fair and just," promised Nagle, whose appointment forced him to end his longtime partnership in a Towson law firm and who several times has been voted one of Maryland's top attorneys by his peers. As he concluded his remarks, Nagle received a standing ovation. Even with three decades of experience litigating all manner of cases and rising to the upper reaches of his profession, Nagle admitted to a mild case of nerves with the approach of his ascension to the bench, and seemed relieved when the long ceremony drew to a close.

A Baltimore County judge was reassigned Wednesday after he presided over the marriage between a man being prosecuted for domestic violence and the alleged victim - a marriage that led to the man's acquittal. Baltimore County District Judge G. Darrell Russell Jr. took the unusual step last week of allowing the defendant to leave court to obtain a marriage license and married the couple later in his chambers. About 20 minutes later, his new wife invoked marital privilege so she would not be required to testify against her husband.

The administrative law judge hearing the Howard County school board's case against fellow member Allen Dyer said Tuesday that Dyer's assertion that the board has not clearly spelled out its reasons for wanting him removed is "becoming increasingly more relevant. " At the end of the session, Dyer made a motion for Administrative Law Judge Douglas Koteen to dismiss the case. "No sitting board member should have to go through this," Dyer said. Koteen, who denied a previous motion of Dyer's to dismiss, said that the matter would be revisited June 6, when the hearing reconvenes.

My son is a veterinarian, so I know a few things about dogs. I am a lawyer, so I know a little something about judges too. And just as some pit bulls - not all - can be mighty frightening to the public, some appellate judges - not all - can be pretty scary too ("Pit bulls are 'inherently dangerous,' court rules," April 28). So a new rule declaring appellate court judges "inherently dangerous" might also be needed. Harvey K. Maizels, Baltimore

The administrative judge hearing the Howard school board's request to remove member Allen Dyer continued his repeated urgings Wednesday for Dyer to move more swiftly in cross-examining witnesses and save arguments against the case for when he is asked to testify. The Howard school board last June adopted a resolution requesting that the state board remove Dyer from the panel, accusing him of such actions as violating confidentiality requirements and bullying school system staff. Dyer, who is representing himself, continued to cross-examine board member Ellen Giles, who was among those who voted in favor of the resolution to oust him, for more than 90 minutes on Wednesday.

A Baltimore County judge denied Mark Midei's appeal for reinstatement of his medical license, ruling that there was "substantial evidence" for the Maryland Board of Physicians to revoke it last year after finding that the Towson cardiologist falsified patient records to justify the placement of unnecessary coronary stents. The decision ends an ordeal that began more than three years ago, when an anonymous letter was sent to the state board, claiming Midei, a well-regarded physician who earned a seven-figure salary at St. Joseph Medical Center, was improperly treating patients.

The judge presiding over the trial of two brothers accused of assaulting a teen in Northwest Baltimore plans to give her ruling in the case Thursday afternoon. Baltimore Circuit Judge Pamela J. White has heard a week of arguments in the bench trial of Eliyahu Werdesheim, 24, and his brother, Avi Werdesheim, 22. After the prosecutor and defense attorneys completed their closing statements Wednesday afternoon, White told them that she expects to issue her verdict at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Political consultant Julius Henson plans to suggest in court this week that he is being prosecuted by the state's Democratic establishment only because he dared to work for Republicans, his attorney said Monday. Henson is accused of election fraud stemming from a 2010 Election Day "robocall" that prosecutors say was intended to trick black voters into staying home. But Henson's attorney contended Monday that prosecutors would not have brought the case had his client continued to work for Democrats, as he had in previous campaigns.

Alice "Gail" Clark isn't sure how her life would have turned out had her husband, John, not read up about James Rouse's planned community while attending graduate school at Howard University in the late 1960s. They were living in Washington, where Alice Clark was a schoolteacher. She later would become a school counselor. "I probably would have stayed in D.C. and retired as a school counselor," Clark said last week. In 1970, Clark, her husband and their infant daughter, Elizabeth, moved to Columbia.

It's apparent that we're once again in election season in Howard County. The signs for the school Board and Circuit Court are beginning to appear everywhere. That's part of the election process and I have no problem with it. What bothers me is when I see the illegal signs of the challenger to the sitting judges. They're on medians, rights of way, county property, etc. — places where clearly no permission was given. These signs say much about someone who wants to be a judge, but has no respect for the law. David Dagold Columbia

Dr. Mark Midei knew about ongoing state and federal investigations into heart stent procedures he performed when he gave up his right to sue St. Joseph Medical Center, meaning he couldn't have been duped into it, a Baltimore County judge ruled Monday. Judge Mickey Norman called the language in a release Midei signed "clear and unambiguous" and disputed Midei's claims that he didn't know further consequences could result from the investigations. The embattled cardiologist sought to hold St. Joseph responsible for destroying his reputation, leaving him unemployed, but Norman dismissed the case before it reached a trial.