Private Practice

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The state Attorney General's Office will decide next week whether to challenge Monday's federal judicial ruling that a man was unfairly convicted of the near-fatal 1990 beating of an Annapolis restaurateur.At the same time, defense lawyers and prosecutors are preparing for the possible retrial of Brady G. Spicer, as they squabble over how soon that trial must start.In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court opinion that said prosecutors failed to tell Spicer's defense attorneys at his first trial about a discrepancy in statements by a now-dead witness.

When the Democratic Party asked Columbia attorney Sherae M. McNeal to run for judge of the Orphans' Court this year, someone probably should have mentioned that to hold the job, she would have to quit her law practice.But apparently party officials and McNeal didn't know that in Howard County, practicing attorneys can't serve as Orphans' Court judges, who are paid about $6,000 a year for their part-time work.Someone finally informed McNeal this month, a month after her election victory and shortly after her Dec. 2 swearing-in.

The Court of Appeals is considering whether to disbar a lawyer for the city housing authority for failure to pay withholding taxes when she was in private practice.The lawyer, Sheila Brooks-Tahir, has worked as a litigator for the authority for six months. Before that, she was a contract employee of the city solicitor's office for a brief period.City officials declined to comment, other than to confirm Brooks-Tahir's employment.It is not clear whether they knew before hiring her of long-standing questions about management of her Salisbury law practice from 1988 to 1994.

Prosecutor Martha Ann Sitterding has resigned as deputy state's attorney for Carroll County, effective Aug. 1, to join her husband's growing private law practice in Westminster, she said yesterday.The transition from prosecuting attorney to defense attorney should not be difficult, she said."As a prosecutor, you ask yourself, 'What do I have here, and what does it tell me?' As a defense attorney, you ask, "What's here, and what's the matter with it?' "Sitterding joined the state's attorney's office 18 months ago after 13 years specializing in sexual offense cases with the Public Defender's Office of Carroll County.

When Alexander Harvey II and Frank A. Kaufman were named to the federal bench on the same day in Baltimore, Lyndon B. Johnson occupied the White House and the Orioles had just completed a stunning four-game World Series sweep of the Dodgers.That was 30 years ago, and Harvey and Kaufman are still on the bench, serving as senior judges in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. Their colleagues held a private celebration this week to mark the anniversary -- Oct. 17, 1966 -- and the judges have been holding small parties with their former law clerks.

My 3 1/2 -year-old son behaves differently depending on which parent he's with. I have fewer problems than his mother. What might account for the inconsistency, and what can we do about it?Clint WilliamsPhoenix, Ariz."Your son behaves differently because he already knows what he can and cannot do with each of you," says Pat Brown, a Child Life reader and former elementary school and day-care teacher from Chesapeake, Va. "This problem was no surprise to me. As a matter of fact, I think it's typical."

Dr. Charles N. Davidson, a retired radiologist who served as chief of radiology and professor of radiology at the University of Maryland and maintained a private practice in the Baltimore area, died Nov. 8 in Milwaukee of complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.He retired in 1979 from private practice as a partner in Radiology Associates with offices in Towson, Dundalk and Cockeysville. In 1972, he retired as adjunct professor of clinical radiology at the University of Maryland medical school.

The two candidates for Anne Arundel County state's attorney were at The Sun newsroom in Pasadena on Oct. 10 to debate. Incumbent Democrat Frank Weathersbee and Republican John Greiber were questioned by three Sun reporters for more than an hour. What follows is an edited transcript of that exchange.Mr. Weathersbee, does it harm prosecutions for assistant state's attorneys to engage in part-time private practice?Weathersbee: No, I don't think so. In a majority of the offices throughout the state, part-time practice is allowed.

Term LimitsIn your June 22 editorial ''Politicians as Usual'' you fail to refer to the reason for the growth of the term limits movement. The reason? Congressional obstructionism. The Congress has persistently refused to set the wheels in motion for consideration of a constitutional amendment establishing term limits.I suspect that congressional recalcitrance was a motivating factor in the Supreme Court's action in agreeing to review. I believe, too, that the review will not be confined to a narrow interpretation of the Constitution, as you suggest, but will also consider individual rights.

Dr. Frank W. Davis Jr., a respected Baltimore cardiologist who managed to combine a private practice, research and teaching during his 50-year career, died Friday of complications from emphysema at his Owings Mills home. He was 85. Dr. Davis, the son of an oral surgeon and a homemaker, was born and raised in Asheville, N.C. After graduation from Edwards High School in Asheville, he earned his bachelor's and medical degrees from Duke University. In 1946, he came to Baltimore to complete his medical internship and residency in cardiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Joseph I. Pines, a retired Baltimore Circuit Court judge and volunteer, died Thursday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Arden Courts, an assisted-living facility in Pikesville. He was 87. Judge Pines, the son of a grocer, was born Joseph I. Pinas in New York City. In 1947, he changed his name to Pines. In 1925, he moved to Baltimore with his family and settled on East Biddle Street. His father established a grocery store on Orleans Street and later moved to Liberty Heights Avenue in Northwest Baltimore, when he opened a store.

We have just one question for Kim Y. Johnson, the Baltimore Police Department official who has been representing criminal suspects and shepherding clients through bankruptcy for years: How do you find time to defend alleged drug dealers, thieves and deadbeat debtors while doing the city's business? Last week, The Baltimore Sun's Justin Fenton reported that Ms. Johnson, who earned $85,000 in 2008 from her police job investigating racial discrimination complaints in the department, also has a private practice defending people charged with serious crimes by her police colleagues.

Dr. Albert Grant, a retired cardiologist who believed that his heart attack patients need not lead a sedentary life, died of a stroke Thursday at Delray Medical Center in Delray, Fla. The former Northwest Baltimore was resident was 89. Born Albert Gubnitsky in Baltimore and raised on North Broadway, he later changed his name to Grant. A 1936 City College graduate, he commuted to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1940. He then enrolled at the University of Maryland's School of Medicine and received a degree in 1943.

Studio executive seeks divorce from 'Private Practice' star Walsh Private Practice star Kate Walsh, 41, is getting divorced after a year of marriage. The actress' husband, Alex M. Young, a top-ranking executive at 20th Century Fox, filed for divorce this week in Los Angeles. His petition cites "irreconcilable differences" but offers no details. The pair married September 2007, and the documents say they separated Nov. 22. A phone message left for Walsh's publicist Thursday was not returned.

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Angry professional women, emotionally messed-up men and a common kitchen area in the workplace where the two can meet, eat and fight - these are the core elements of Private Practice, the Grey's Anatomy spinoff premiering tonight on ABC. And while the series created by Shonda Rhimes brings some outstanding performers like Amy Brenneman and Audra McDonald back to weekly TV, tonight's season opener is not very appealing. Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery (Kate Walsh), the character who is supposed to lead viewers from Seattle Grace Hospital to the new show's setting at the Oceanside Wellness Center in Santa Monica, Calif.

Eric F. Waller, a retired lawyer who enjoyed beekeeping and gardening, died Monday of cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The longtime Mount Washington resident was 58. Mr. Waller was born in Baltimore and raised on Ford's Lane in Pikesville. He was a 1967 graduate of Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Mass. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1971 and his law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1976. After completing his clerkship, he entered private practice when he joined the Baltimore firm of Sherbow, Shea & Doyle in 1977.

As CBS prepares to present its slate for next season to advertisers this morning, the network has reportedly ordered four dramas and at least one comedy. In addition to the previously expected pick-ups, the industry trade papers are reporting that CBS will order Moonlight. Formerly titled Twilight, the Angel-esque drama stars Alex O'Loughlin as a vampire private investigator. Moonlight takes the slot most observers were expecting to go to the zombie dramedy Babylon Fields, which is still believed to be in contention for a midseason slot, along with the LL Cool J vehicle The Man and Skip Tracer, which stars Stephen Dorff.

Bush plans economics pitch during Maryland visit WASHINGTON -- President Bush plans to promote his economic policies in a Labor Day visit to a maritime training center in Southern Maryland's Piney Point, keeping an appointment he had to cancel last Labor Day for a tour of the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast. Bush's stop at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Education and Training is part of an election-year push to convince voters that his policies have boosted the economy and are a key reason to elect Republican candidates.